As Senate ratchets up global warming debate, policymakers should work to strengthen US-Canadian energy partnership
Cap-and-trade, health care reform, financial regulatory overhaul – the list of measures being considered on Capitol Hill right now might seem disparate to you, but advocates of each continue to claim that adoption of their respective policy will deliver one important thing of which the American people are currently in desperate need: Jobs. And lots of them.
But setting aside the question of how carbon rations or public options will actually add workers back to US payrolls, a new study out of Canada suggests that thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in additional GDP are staring US policymakers right in the face – and it doesn’t require a federal takeover of the American economy to produce them.
Such is the key lesson communicated in a report by the non-profit Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) this month, a study that takes a thorough, quantitative look at how our continued partnership with Canada and its abundant supplies of secure, affordable energy can single-handedly create more than 300,000 high-wage jobs in the US, and more than $42 billion in annual GDP.
Among the other important considerations that CERI experts found in their analysis:
- As investment and production in oil sands ramps up in Canada, the pace of economic activity quickens and demand for US goods and services increase rapidly, resulting in an estimated 343 thousand new US jobs between 2011 and 2015.
- Demand for US goods and services continues to climb throughout the period, adding an estimated $34 billion to US GDP in 2015, $40.4 billion in 2020, and $42.2 billion in 2025.
- The increase in output of goods and services from various US industrial sectors due to the development and production of Canadian oil sands. On average, US output of goods and services increases by $62 billion per year over the period of analysis, 2009- 2025.
- Access to new energy means the increased production of heavy trucks in the US that are used to transport the oil-bearing sand.
Currently, Canada delivers more than 2.5 million barrels of secure, affordable energy to American consumers every day, helping keep gas prices stable for families, consumers, business and manufacturers. But the foundation of this strong North American trading partnership would be eroded if Congress enacts a nationwide Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). And though its name might not indicate otherwise, an LCFS effectively seeks to do one thing: block Canada’s oil from crossing the US border, even if it means shutting the door on jobs, revenue, security and opportunity in the process.
While word this week from the Bureau of Economic Analysis that the American economy picked up a couple percentage points of growth last quarter is welcome news, policymakers in Washington need to realize that an LCFS would not only increase prices at the pump for American consumers and deepen our dangerous dependence on foreign energy, it could also prevent the creation of thousands of American jobs that now, more than ever, could be used as momentum for a broad-based economic recovery.
The CERI study makes those facts plain, and it even breaks down the numbers for us on a state-by-state basis. Based on projections that the production of Canadian oil sands increases from nearly 1.4 million barrels a day to about 4 million barrel by 2025, CERI researchers found that:
- [US] Employment increases across the county with some of the largest impacts occurring in California (43 thousand jobs created between 2011 and 2015), Florida (20 thousand jobs created between 2011 and 2015), and Texas (27 thousand jobs created between 2011 and 2015). These US jobs are created by the indirect and induced impacts of Canadian oil sands development and production.
- Due to the deep and rich trading relationship between Canada and the United States, the US derives significant economic benefits from this increased economic activity across many sectors throughout the United States. The benefits manifest themselves in terms of increased economic output, GDP and job creation. In addition, the US benefits from a stable supply of oil, something not considered by the report but critically important to US energy security.
Facing the worst recession since World War II, with national unemployment on the doorstep of 10 percent, this study represents yet another reason why Congress needs to resist adding an LCFS to current climate legislation. Sure, it’d be loser for America’s security. Sure, it wouldn’t do a thing to reduce global carbon emissions. But in this climate, jobs are king. And an LCFS is a failsafe way to lose them by the truckload.
