Tougher fuel economy standards that will put more electric cars, hybrids and other fuel-efficient models on California's roads will create up to 236,000 new jobs in the state over the next 14 years, according to a new report.

Next 10, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes the growth of the state's clean tech sector, said the state and federal governments' implementation of aggressive new fuel economy standards could boost growth in California's $1.9 trillion economy by up to 1.31 percent by the year 2025 while cutting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 19 percent.

"Efficiency fuels growth by saving consumers and businesses money and allowing them to spend it on things they really want," said the report's author, UC Berkeley professor David Roland-Holst.

"If you take a dollar out of the gas pump and spend it in a way that the consumer usually does, it will create jobs in a much more intensive way."

The California Air Resources Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are working to develop new fuel economy standards for cars to be built between 2017 and 2025.

The agencies, which will announce the new standards in September, are considering rules that would cut emissions between 3 percent and 6 percent a year.

The proposed standards would require new cars built in 2025 to get 47 miles per gallon on the low side and up to 62 miles per gallon on the high side. The current requirement calls for new cars to get an average gas mileage of at least 27 miles per gallon.

Cars and trucks comprise the state's largest source of carbon emissions, generating more than half of the greenhouse gas that scientists blame for global warming.

For years, U.S. automakers strongly opposed such standards, but now they're looking to capitalize on the shift toward cleaner cars.

Chevrolet introduced the Volt plug-in hybrid model last year, and Ford Motor Co. said it plans to introduce an all-electric Focus this year. Ford says that up to 25 percent of its sales will come from electric, hybrid or other new generation models by the year 2020.

Cleaner cars have long been touted as a remedy to the state's pollution problem, but the drawback has always been the cost.

For instance, the Volt retails for about $40,000, before subtracting $7,500 in federal tax incentives. An all-electric Nissan Leaf goes for about $32,000.

The Next 10 report said savings on fuel will more than offset the higher sticker prices. The report also said that most of the new cars built to meet the aggressive fuel standards will be more efficient gasoline-driven cars.

The Next 10 study comes as a separate report by Ford identified Sacramento as one of the top 25 cities in the country for policies favoring electric cars.

Low electricity rates, free parking for electric cars at some city-owned lots, high-occupancy vehicle – or HOV – lane privileges for clean cars and the adoption of a citywide sustainability plan will boost adoption rates for plug-in vehicles, the study said.

Not everyone is on board with the rosy projections, however. Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said much of the projected economic benefits of clean cars relies on continued high gasoline prices. If the price of gasoline falls below today's $4-per-gallon levels, the incentives to buy the new cars and any forecasted consumer savings disappear.

"These policies look like they work well in theory … but they're costly," he said.

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