People use energy from the moment they get up in the morning to when they go to bed at night.
The cost for the United States would be far more than for Europe, Japan and most other nations that may sign the treaty, because it is the biggest energy user. Studies on the costs of President Clinton's global-warming strategy, which would cut energy use by 34 percent to 1990 levels in 2012, estimate that gas prices would jump from 25 cents to 50 cents at the pump, while electricity prices would climb at least 20 percent. The costs go beyond the gas pump and electricity meter, however, since many industries would be hit hard by the higher energy prices and would be tempted to relocate to countries like China and Mexico that have no emissions controls. Other studies show the cost to economic growth ranging up to 4 percent. Consumers would feel many of the costs indirectly, because the administration would achieve the energy cuts by capping emissions at factories and power plants and requiring auto manufacturers to make more fuel-efficient cars.