New US map highlights green jobs potential

As some Republican senators and carbon intensive industries prepare to oppose proposals for a US-wide carbon cap-and-trade scheme, those seeking to gain support for an emissions cap and the jobs it could help create are also seeking to mobilise public opinion.

On Friday, lobby group the Environmental Defense Fund launched a new interactive map identifying over 1,200 firms from 12 "heartland" states that stand to benefit from Barack Obama's proposed cap on carbon emissions.

The searchable map, which covers Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Virginia and Florida, marks where companies in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields are located.

It also provides information on the different companies, as well as the Congressional District they operate in.

Jackie Roberts, EDF director of sustainable technologies, said in a statement that the aim of the map was to highlight the fact that a wide variety of green companies outside of the traditional clean tech hubs on the west and east coast would also benefit from a cap on emissions.

"These maps tell the story of how a cap can fuel economic growth in the heartland while reducing America's global warming pollution," she said. "There is a manufacturing boom ready to happen, and a cap will help ignite that spark. "

EDF said the map, which was presented at a green jobs meeting in Philadelphia attended by vice president Joe Biden, had initially been targeted at swing states in an attempt to inform Congressional leaders that there was a strong economic case for supporting climate change legislation.