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Energy efficiency is the most readily available and inexpensive source of clean energy and must play a central role solving global climate change. According to a recent study by McKinsey and Company, efficiency improvements in buildings, industry, transportation, and energy production processes could prevent billions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions and trim the demand for energy services in the United States to current levels by 2030. The Alliance to Save Energy supports the creation of strong climate policies, domestic and international.
National Climate Policy
The Alliance to Save Energy strongly supports the creation of a domestic cap-and-trade program that sets a carbon price, implements complementary energy efficiency policies, and invests in complementary energy efficiency programs. A strong climate policy will spur unprecedented levels of energy efficiency and result in smarter resource use in hard to reach sectors of the economy. Energy efficiency can reduce the costs and expedite the deployment such a program and is thus an immediate and necessary solution to global climate change.
Principles of Climate Legislation: The Alliance adopted these eight principles to guide the development of a robust and lasting domestic climate policy. These principles direct the United States realizes the full potential of cost-effective energy efficiency by setting a strong carbon price and by implementing complementary energy efficiency measures.
Climate Legislation Frequently Asked Questions: Even with two major pieces of climate legislation moving through the United States Congress, many Americans still have unanswered questions about their impacts. This document seeks to demystify current climate legislation, focusing on the keystone role of energy efficiency in solving the climate challenge.
Current Climate Legislation
Congress is moving swiftly to act on climate change. The House passed strong climate legislation in June and the Senate recently introduced comparable legislation. If both bills pass their respective chambers, they will be reconciled in conference before going to President Obama for enactment.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009: In June, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES or HR 2454) after months of negotiations. The end result was a cap-and-trade pollution reduction program with very strong complementary energy efficiency provisions, including new and improved efficiency codes and standards, better consumer information, and transportation planning.
Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009: In October, Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (CEJAPA). The much-awaited Senate Climate bill contains a cap-and-trade mechanism similar to the House-passed version along with several energy-specific provisions. The Senate will reconcile CEJAPA with a separate energy bill, the American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA), in order to match the house-passed energy and climate bill.
Previous United States Climate Legislation
The 110th Congress introduced several climate bills, most significantly the Dingell-Boucher bill and the Warner-Boxer-Lieberman Bill, both introduced in the Senate. While none of the bills developed the momentum or significance of legislation in the 111th Congress, they set a precedent for climate legislation.
International Climate Treaties & Agreements
Around the globe, 2009 is a paramount year for the climate, as leaders from 192 countries prepare for the United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen in December. Officially known as the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the summit in Copenhagen marks a critical moment to reach a new climate treaty as a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the first phase of which expires in 2012.
Energy efficiency will play a major role in the Copenhagen negotiations, both as a cost containment mechanism in regulated entities and as an opportunity to reduce the emissions of non-regulated entities through carbon offsets. As cost containment, an international treaty could spur global research and development and deployment of technologies, policies and programs to encourage smart energy use. Energy efficiency faces significant hurdles as an offset product, as international standards for evaluation, measurement and verification (EM&V) are yet insufficient to measure the integrity of a highly diffuse and heterogeneous set of energy efficiency offset projects.
For more information on international climate negotiations, see U.S. special Climate Envoy Todd Stern's testimony to the House Select Committee on Global Warming.
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