Report Shows New York Businesses Will Benefit from Measures to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

ALBANY, NY (06/15/2010)(readMedia)-- Environmental Advocates of New York released a new report today highlighting three economic sectors across the state that will benefit from policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate of Change: How Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Strengthens New York Business describes three New York companies that benefit from such policies: Mascoma Corporation in Rome, Solar Energy Specialists in Brooklyn, and ZERODRAFT Energy Specialists in Syracuse and Albany.

"The sooner New York tackles climate change head on, the sooner we will rejuvenate the economy, spur new investment, and put New Yorkers back to work, "said Ross Gould, air and energy program director at Environmental Advocates of New York. "This report shows that a lot of New York businesses will benefit when policy-makers decide we should reduce the emissions that cause global climate change."

According to the report, three sectors of the economy stand to gain from actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: energy efficiency installations, solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, and sustainably produced second-generation biofuels.

With almost 25 percent of New York's greenhouse gas emissions attributed to residential housing, tremendous opportunities exist for making our homes more energy efficient.

"Improving energy efficiency in homes and businesses is good for the environment and can save homeowners & businessowners significant money on their energy bills and at the same time will create jobs within the community," said ZERODRAFT Energy Specialists.

Expanding the portion of the state's electricity generation that comes from clean, renewable sources, such as solar PV is one of the most effective ways to cut global warming pollution. Solar PV holds great promise for increasing jobs for New Yorkers. According to the Energy and Environmental Technology Center, a state solar installation target of 2,000 megawatts by the year 2020 could produce as many as 3,000 permanent construction jobs and 10,000 manufacturing/integration jobs.

"Solar PV is now and will continue to be an important part of New York State's energy mix. It is imperative that we reduce greenhouse gases, and solar PV, along with other renewable energy sources, will do that," said Solar Energy Systems, LLC.

Moving toward the use of lower carbon biofuels also holds a great deal of promise for reducing emissions from the transportation sector. Currently, the United States consumes approximately 14 million barrels of oil a day on transportation and is the net importer of oil. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuel is a step in the right direction.

"New York State offers significant opportunities to develop clean and renewable sources of cellulosic ethanol," said Alan Belcher, Senior Vice President of Operations, Mascoma Corporation. "Not only could home grown New York biofuel replace fossil fuel gasoline, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on foreign oil."

The key to stimulating these investments involves passage of legislation pending in the New York State Senate-the Global Warming Pollution Control Act. The bill would set an economy-wide cap on greenhouse gas emissions and require achievable reductions in the pollution that causes climate change. The Global Warming Pollution Control Act already passed the New York State Assembly on April 20 and has strong support in the State Senate with 31 sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

To view the complete report, http://eany.org/issues/reports/ClimateofChange_FINAL_lowres.pdf.

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Environmental Advocates of New York's mission is to protect our air, land, water and wildlife and the health of all New Yorkers. Based in Albany, we monitor state government, evaluate proposed laws, and champion policies and practices that will ensure the responsible stewardship of our shared environment. We work to support and strengthen the efforts of New York's environmental community and to make our state a national leader. The tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization is also the New York affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.