On Wednesday, the wide field of Republican candidates vying to become the 45th president will arrive in Boulder, Colorado for a debate on the economy. As a former governor, I appreciate the importance of the traditional key economic metrics that will no doubt be part of the conversation, but I also firmly believe that the health of our economy is inextricably linked to our environment. The two absolutely must be discussed in concert.
America's wealth has always been rooted in our vast natural resources. The health of our economy will depend on our ability to recognize this link and our responsibility to act as stewards of both.
Along this thinking, I offer two recommendations for framing the conversation on Wednesday. First, environmental inaction leads to very real costs and risks to our economy. Here in the West, wildfires have racked up annual federal costs averaging $3 billion since 2002, double the costs in the 1990s. In other parts of the country, climate change manifests itself in the number and magnitude of floods, hurricanes, and draught. These escalating costs represent a crippling threat to our economy. Those of us concerned about government spending, not to mention the health and welfare of the American people, should agree that it is government's role to manage the growing risks of runaway weather just as any rational business would seek to minimize its costs and risk.
The good news is that these risks can be managed through leadership and proactive public policy. There are many Republican leaders who are implementing clean energy agendas at the state level. In Nevada, Governor Sandoval signed legislation to close the oldest coal fired generating units and replace them with natural gas and renewable energy. In Michigan, Governor Snyder has said that his state will assemble a plan to comply with the EPA's Clean Power Plan. In 2006, Governor Huntsman in Utah challenged the state to increase energy efficiency 20 percent by 2015 and just weeks ago, a study on home energy efficiency by WalletHub rated Utah the most efficient state in the country, saving residents millions of dollars each year.
A second point to frame the economic debate is that investing in clean energy, and by extension a healthy economy, is good business and big business. The New York Stock Exchange Bloomberg Clean Energy Index is outperforming the rest of the stock market with gains of 6 percent in 2015, double those of the S&P 500 and Russell 3000 Index. Advanced Energy Economy estimates the global market for advanced energy at nearly $1.3 Trillion dollars. That is too big a market for the world's leading economy to ignore.
Clean energy is also putting America to work. The Solar Foundation counts more than 173,000 solar workers in America; the American Wind Energy Association reports the industry added 23,000 jobs in 2014 for a total of 73,000. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reported in 2012 that there were 830,000 jobs in energy efficiency and growing at a rate of 3 percent per year.
Few issues touch as many voters and communities as climate change and few have as great an ability jumpstart our innovation economy. Yet, no issue appears to divide our national political parties as much as climate change, even as state and local officials continue to cross political aisles to protect their communities from its impacts. Unfortunately, no Republican presidential candidate has yet to release an energy plan that challenges energy markets to innovate toward a clean energy future.
A new poll by ClearPath finds that 73 percent of registered voters and 56 percent of registered Republicans understand that the climate change is real and that humans are contributing to it. Perhaps even more compelling, 72 percent of GOP voters support taking action to accelerate clean energy deployment in the U.S.
There is a political will among Republicans to address climate change. The words we use to frame the conversation matter. I believe that the Republican candidates would be surprised to learn how receptive conservative voters are to greater economic and national security through a renewed focus on innovation, environmental stewardship and investment in America's rightful place as a clean energy superpower.