Two days after the California Legislature agreed to implement its own plan to limit greenhouse gases, business is getting cold feet, reports the Los Angeles Times. The new requirements will be costly and have little impact unless others follow the lead, experts tell the paper.

The key points are that core industries like utilities and oil will have to make big changes and consumers will pay more for energy.

Skeptics point out that it will do little to affect global warming. One ecologist says the effect will be negligible. But even the supporters see it as little more than setting an example of how greenhouse gases can be controlled.

It is probably supposed to work like the special emissions equipment on cars that was implemented by California decades ago. With such a significant piece of the car market, California ended up dictating the national standards. Will that work across the broader economy?

Depends who you ask. For the skeptics, it’s probably a boon for Nevada which will now be more attractive for the old, “dirty” industries. The smart money in Silicon Valley, which sometimes isn’t all that smart, is hoping the legislation spawns another tech revolution, this time in the energy sector.