Despite modern opinion that the world must reduce its carbon emissions, legislation on energy restrictions may have an adverse affect on the economy and consumers.

In the US, up to 5 million jobs could potentially be lost along with $1 trillion in economic output, if energy legislation pending in US Congress goes ahead. These figures have been revealed in a recent report released by API, the industry’s national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry.

The combined effect of seven legislative proposals would restrict the supply of energy available to the US economy and would likely increase the cost of energy supplies to consumers and businesses. This means that by 2030, Economic output would be likely to decline by 4 per cent, or more than $1 trillion; non-farm job losses caused by higher energy costs likely would result in nearly 5 million lost jobs, and households could suffer about a $1,700 reduction in real income.

"This legislation would put consumers in a squeeze," said David Montgomery, a vice president and co-head of CRA’s energy and environmental practice, which is a worldwide leader in providing economic, financial and management consulting services.

John Felmy, API's chief economist, added: "This study points out the folly of energy legislation based on taxing the oil industry and raising the cost of energy to consumers."

Similar plans to restrict energy usage in the UK could have similar affects on the economy. However, a report by Cambridge-based analysts CarbonFree includes a catalogue of 101 ways organisations can reduce their carbon footprint, despite rising costs in oil and gas prices.

The report, 'Low Emission IT - The Internet Meets the Oil Crisis', focuses on the challenges facing the IT industry to try and cut back on the amount of energy they require to process and store the countless megabytes of data which are created and accessed every day.

While carbon emissions across the globe are at an all time high, it is becoming increasingly important to make an effort to reduce our carbon footprint. However, without having drastic effects on the economy and consumers themselves, a solution is yet to be found.