The more a congressional climate-change bill cracks down on greenhouse-gas emissions, the better the long-term prospects for Ohio's economy, according to a report yesterday by renewable-energy business advocates.

Ohio would gain up to 61,000 jobs by 2020 and see its economy grow by $3.7 billion if a stringent climate-change bill becomes law, says the report released by the Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy.

There would be some short-term increases to Ohio's energy costs, acknowledged Eric Zimmer of Tipping Point Renewable Energy, one of the businesses that released the study and a member of the clean economy council.

But a strict carbon cap would soon lead to energy-efficiency savings and alternative energy innovation, and by 2020 the average household income would increase by $992, in 2008 dollars, the study says.

A less-strict piece of legislation still could yield about half those numbers, the study says.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of a group of Midwest lawmakers trying to figure out how to craft a climate-change bill that would bring more jobs to states like Ohio than it would lose.

The report was timed for release the day before Senate climate-change legislation hearings begin, although there is doubt on Capitol Hill whether a final House-Senate bill will be approved this year.

jriskind@dispatch.com