IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
An estimated $9.1 billion and 41,000 jobs were added to the Inland Empire economy from 2010 to 2016, the result of clean air initiatives and the battle to stop climate change, a study has found.
Indirectly, that spending created more than 73,000 jobs and pumped approximately $14.2 billion into the Inland Empire economy, according to a study released Thursday by Next10, a nonpartisan think tank in San Francisco.
The study, The Net Economic Impacts of California’s Major Climate Programs in the Inland Empire, analyzes the benefits of California’s climate and clean energy policies on the two-county region.
It also looks at the positive impact of compliance expenditures, investment expenses, and other costs. Renewable energy, cap and trade, distributed solar energy, and efficiency programs were all cited for having a positive impact on Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“The Inland Empire is extremely important to the economy of California and is uniquely at risk to environmental and economic challenges,” said F. Noel Perry, Next10’s founder, in a statement. “This report indicates that overall, policies including cap and trade, the renewable portfolio standard, as well as energy efficiency and distributed solar programs, are contributing jobs and economic benefits.”
Next10 commissioned researchers from two departments at the University of California, Berkeley – the Center for Labor Research and Education and the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment – to prepare the report.
