Consumer savings on fuel costs will allow greater spending on non-energy sectors of the economy. By following the Innovation Path 800,000 additional jobs beyond baseline growth will be produced by 2010. The implications of this study are relevant to the negotiations of the world's governments as they seek limits on emissions of greenhouse gases. These talks will conclude at the Kyoto climate summit in December of 1997. U.S. leadership is essential for achieving an international agreement that would fulfill the goal of preventing dangerous climate changes as mandated by the Rio Climate Treaty.
Fossil fuels are the chief source of the pollutants that are disrupting the earth's climate.
The continued build-up of CO 2 provokes global warming, causing severe weather disruptions such as, heatwaves, storms, drought, floods, rising sea levels, and the commensurate social and economic impacts of such events. To avoid the economic and environmental consequences of staying on that course, the United States must begin to move away from an energy policy based in fossil fuels and towards one based on renewable sources and efficient technologies. The Innovation Path is based on a set of programs and policies that would guide our economy toward cheaper, cleaner, more secure, more sustainable ways of producing and using energy. Dependence on fossil fuels is costly for America. An over-reliance on foreign corporations and governments hurts the nation's economy and poses a threat to national security.