Stimulus Plan Can Reduce GHG Emissions – Report

A carbon footprint analysis of the Obama administration’s proposed economic recovery package projects that the bill’s energy efficiency and conservation provisions alone could cut carbon dioxide emissions by over 61 million metric tons annually.

The report, commissioned by Greenpeace, found the reductions would be equivalent to the greenhouse gases from electricity use in 7.9 million American homes or taking over 13 million cars off the road.

However, the transportation provisions of the bill, if spent on new highway construction instead of highway repair or public transit, could reduce the benefits by up to 5 million tons annually.

The analysis was conducted by ICF International, a climate and energy consulting firm for governments, Fortune 500 companies, and non-profits.

“The fact that the federal government could spend so much money and actually help slow global warming means we’ve really turned the page as a country,” said Kert Davies, Greenpeace’s Research Director. “This is a real sign that we’re starting to move beyond the era of fossil fuels.”

Any effective economic stimulus must address global warming. Climate change will create a $271 billion drag on the U.S. economy by 2025 according to NRDC, and cost 5%-20% of global GDP by 2100, according to the U.K. government’s Stern Review.

The report projects how different provisions of the recovery package could affect US greenhouse gas emissions. Across the board, of the measures analyzed, energy efficiency offers the biggest potential for carbon reductions, as well as significant cost savings to consumers and local municipalities.

For example, the report found that $2.5 billion spent on energy efficiency upgrades to homes could reduce carbon emissions by 7.3 million metric tons and save $1.25 billion in annual utility costs. Similarly, a $6.9 billion investment to help state and local governments invest in energy efficiency could generate $3 billion in savings every single year and cut carbon emissions by over 20 million tons per year.

In contrast, if the $30 billion allotted for transportation were spent on new highways, which create sprawl and paradoxically attract more cars, it would cause 10-50 times the global warming pollution than a similar expenditure on light rail or repairing existing roads. Previous research found that investments in mass transit create 19% more jobs than new highway construction. (link to that report here: http://www.transact.org/library/decoder/jobs_decoder.pdf)

In order to maximize the recovery package’s economic and environmental benefits, Greenpeace recommended the following measures:

1. Since the job-creation potential of clean energy is virtually limitless, Congress should increase funding for these projects still further. Investments in energy efficiency create 4.4 times the number of jobs as the same investment in nuclear energy and 2.6 times the number of jobs as coal. (link to that report here: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/assets/binaries/green-job-creation-table)
2. Make the renewable energy tax credits recession-proof.  Today, some clean energy companies aren’t earning enough profits to pay taxes and claim the credit.  Congress should make the tax credit fully refundable.
3. Eliminate the wasteful and environmentally damaging loan guarantees for nuclear power and liquid coal, which generate far fewer economic and jobs benefits than clean energy.

The full report can be downloaded at the link below.