In letters being delivered tomorrow to the White House and the leadership of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, 33 business and environmental organizations – members of the Sustainable Energy Coalition – urge the nation’s political decision-makers “to greatly reduce [U.S.] production of greenhouse gases through a mix of policies designed to shift [U.S.] energy use away from fossil fuels and towards greatly improved energy efficiency and a vast expansion of the use of renewable energy sources.”
Noting that 2004 was the fourth warmest year on record and citing a series of recent studies suggesting that global climate change may be occurring more rapidly and with more sever consequences than earlier thought, the groups warn:
“[I]n spite of the consistency and severity of these warnings, the United States remains wedded to a climate policy that is based almost totally on voluntary measures, carbon sequestration, and long-term research. Such a policy is not only inadequate, it is irresponsible.
“It is even more troubling that today, the day that the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, the United States remains isolated as one of the few industrialized nations that is not a party to the document.
“It is now long past the time when the United States, responsible for a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions but having only 5% of the world’s population, should have embarked on a serious campaign to address this problem.”
The letter’s signers proceed to offer seven recommendations for action consistent with those recently put forth by the International Climate Change Taskforce:
A.) establish a national renewable portfolio standard to generate at least 20% of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020 while aiming for 25% by 2025;
B.) establish a national renewable fuels standard to provide at least 25% of its liquid transportation fuels from renewable energy sources by 2025;
C.) establish aggressive end-use efficiency targets for utilities as well as phase in much tighter efficiency standards for vehicles, appliances, industrial processes, lighting, and buildings;
D.) increase its spending on research, development, and deployment of sustainable energy technologies by two-fold or more by 2010, at the same time as adopting near-term strategies for the large-scale deployment of existing energy efficient and renewable energy technologies;
E.) introduce a national mandatory cap-and-trade systems for carbon emissions, and construct it to allow for their future integration into a single global market;
F.) remove barriers to and increase investment in renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and practices through such measures as the phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies; expansion of investment tax credits, loan guarantees and other forms of government support for sustainable energy technologies; and implementation of uniform net metering and interconnection standards; and
G.) officially acknowledge the severity of the threat posed by climate change, commit to preventing global average temperature from rising more than 2C (3.6F) above the pre-industrial level, re-engage with the world community in a global framework that builds on the Kyoto Protocol and enables all countries to be part of concerted action on climate change, and share in the global financial burden of adequately addressing this problem.
The signatories are:
3EStrategies
Alliance for Affordable Energy
American Solar Energy Society
Bluewater Network
Bob Lawrence & Associates, Inc.
Citizen Power
Colorado Energy Group
Council for Photovoltaic Research
John Schaefer, Energy Consultant
Energy Federation, Inc.
Environmental & Energy Study Institute
EPRIDA (University of Georgia Bioconversion Center)
EV Solar Products, Inc.
Fat Spaniel Technologies, Inc.
Global Possibilities
Greenpeace USA
Hawaii Solar Energy Association
JBS Energy, Inc.
Maine Solar Energy Association
Mainstay Energy
New Uses Council
Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI)
San Luis Sustainability Group Architects
SustainableBusiness.com
Sustainable Energy Resource Group
The Stella Group, Inc.
SUN DAY Campaign
Tellus Institute
Union of Concerned Scientists
U.S. Public Interest Research Group
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
The Vote Solar Initiative
Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation
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