Washington, D.C., December 15, 2008 – The Alliance to Save Energy today commended President-Elect Obama’s selection for top energy and environmental posts of individuals who will be strong voices for developing and implementing sustainable energy policies and addressing global climate change: Nobel Prize winning physicist and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Director Stephen Chu as energy secretary; former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner for the new post of “energy czar”; and New Jersey Commissioner of Environmental Protection Lisa Jackson as EPA administrator.

Alliance President Kateri Callahan said Chu’s combined management experience and scientific knowledge will ensure prominence for both the Department of Energy’s (DOE) energy efficiency and renewable energy mission and its research mission.

“As a Nobel laureate and LBNL director, Dr. Chu will bring to the leadership of DOE unequaled technical depth, the far-reaching vision needed to keep DOE at the forefront of innovation in both basic and applied science, and an understanding of what it takes to manage a large, multifaceted, world-class research establishment,” she said.

“Under Dr. Chu’s guidance, LBNL – a leader in developing and introducing into the marketplace energy efficiency technologies such as the compact fluorescent light bulb – has been one of the most innovative and effective institutions in applying science and technology to today’s energy problems. This experience will help him lead DOE as our nation addresses the twin challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing new sources of clean energy to fuel a sustainable economy here and around the world,” Callahan said.

“Dr. Chu also has nurtured and strengthened LBNL’s 50-year-plus relationship with the University of California Berkeley campus; initiated international partnerships in India, China, and elsewhere; and collaborated on energy efficiency initiatives with California utilities and the California Energy and Public Utilities Commissions. These relationships are models for the collaborative, nationwide investments needed to attract and retain the brightest young people to careers in energy efficiency and clean energy supplies,” she added.

Noting that Browner understands well the important role that energy efficiency can play in meeting national environmental, energy, and economic goals, Callahan stated, “We are confident that as head of a new White House office coordinating energy, environmental, and climate change policy, Browner will ensure that this key nexus remains ‘top of mind’ for administration policy makers and agencies ranging from the Department of Defense to Commerce and all those in between. And Browner’s background in the public and private sectors suits her well for dealing with Congress as policy proposals are translated into legislation.”

Under long-time environmental regulator Jackson, New Jersey has made a commitment to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2020 and reduce emissions to 80 percent below 2006 levels by 2050. “We trust that as EPA administrator, Jackson will bring the same vision and drive she demonstrated in New Jersey to her new post, and that she will continue to advance energy efficiency as an essential strategy for putting our nation on the clean energy path that is so essential for our economic and national energy security, as well as our environmental health,” Callahan said.