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Mark Hopkins United Nations Foundation June 2009. STIMULATING A GREEN ENERGY ECONOMY. POLICY ELEMENTS. A comprehensive policy approach provides the foundation to grow a new economy based on a commercial market for clean energy. Result : New business and job opportunities.
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Mark Hopkins United Nations Foundation June 2009 STIMULATING A GREEN ENERGY ECONOMY
POLICY ELEMENTS A comprehensive policy approach provides the foundation to grow a new economy based on a commercial market for clean energy. Result: New business and job opportunities
MAKING A DOWN PAYMENT “To control our own destiny, America must develop new forms of energy and new ways of using it. This is not a challenge for government alone…It is a challenge for all of us.” President Barack Obama, December 15, 2008 The economic stimulus jumpstarts a fundamental change in energy strategy. Additional policy changes extend and enhance the benefits of the stimulus.
“REBUILDING AMERICA” • American Recovery & Reinvestment Act includes about $30 billion for clean energy: • $11B for smart electric grid • $6B renewable energy loan guarantee to leverage $60B in private sector financing • $10B for school energy retrofits • $8.5B for federal building retrofits • $5B to weatherize a million low income homes • $6.3B for state & municipal energy programs • $8.2B for research, advanced batteries and CCS • $500M for a Green Jobs Retraining Program • Stimulus especially targets the building sector
STIMULUS BENEFITS • Energy efficiency is the largest supply resource in the US; the stimulus builds on that success by: • Retrofitting 4 million buildings, leading to the retrofit of 50 million by 2020 • Directly creating 100,000 new jobs and stimulating many more though indirect economic effects • Creating new business activity in the hard-hit construction industry • Bringing renewable energy to scale to lower per unit cost of production to make it more affordable • Lowering energy costs for millions of families and small businesses
THE COALITION APPROACH Utilities and Building Trades IT , Utilities, & Business Labor Government Environmental, Religious, & Consumer Groups IT Sector, National Labs, Universities Financial Institutions, Insurance, Investors
REBUILDING AMERICA PARTNERS Stimulus was supported by a diverse coalition: labor, construction, business, and environmental organizations AFL-CIO -- AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades -- Allianz of America -- Associated Builders & Contractors -- Associated General Contractors of America -- Building Owners and Managers Association -- Change to Win -- Center for American Progress – Ceres -- Con Edison -- Consumer Federation of America -- Copper Development Association -- Council on Competitiveness -- Edison Electric Institute -- Energy Future Coalition – Intel -- Jones Lang LaSalle -- National Wildlife Federation -- Natural Resources Defense Council -- North American Insulation Manufacturers Association -- Pacific Gas & Electric -- Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association -- The Real Estate Roundtable -- Sacramento Municipal Utility District -- United States Green Building Council • “The breadth of this coalition reflects the very strong public support for energy efficiency investments. ‘Rebuilding America’ will pay off with an immediate economic stimulus as well as being a good long-term investment in the economy. A failure to include a major investment in energy efficiency in the economic recovery package would be a tremendous mistake.” • Tim Wirth, UN Foundation President and former US Senator
WHY ENERGY EFFICIENCY? • It’s Cheaper : Programs deliver energy efficiency for 3 to 4 cents per kWh as compared to 10 cent or more per kWh cost of new power supply • It’s Cleaner: No GHG emissions and eliminates the need for hundreds of new polluting power plants. • It’s Faster: A new power plant takes 6 to 12 years to approve and build – energy efficiency can be deployed immediately. • It’s Bigger: Energy efficiency can supply most or all electricity demand growth through 2030. • It’s Better: Consumers save billions of dollars in utility bills and it drives sales of energy efficient products and creates thousands of new jobs.
ENERGY & CLIMATE LEGISLATION • US House of Representatives: • Establishes a National Cap and Trade Emissions Reduction Market • Includes an energy efficiency and renewable energy standard and provisions on Smart Grid • Approved by House Energy and Commerce Committee and is now awaiting full approval by full House of Representatives • US Senate: • Deploys clean-energy technology and improves energy efficiency • Increases energy innovation and makes energy markets more transparent • The bill awaits Senate Energy Committee approval. • Once the two bills are approved they will be sent to a House/Senate Conference Committee that will prepare final compromise legislation; once approved it will be sent to President Obama to sign. • This legislation is the critical to establish the US position at Copenhagen Climate Negotiations this December