Breaking the Ice: Obama Seeks to Cement Climate Change Legacy

During a 3-day visit to Alaska, President Obama pressed for action by the world community and pledged increased actions by the U.S. to avert climate change.

Alaska has experienced the fastest rate of warming during the past 20 years of any large surface of the earth. Contacted by NBC News, FREE’s Dr. Byrne commented on the President’s efforts, stressing the improved science which points to undeniable human impact and noting the economic benefits of stronger action.

What this means:
The U.S. has the highest per capita emissions of greenhouse gases among the major economies of the world. It is also the incubator of some of the most important policy and technology innovations which can be used to dramatically and affordably lower emissions.

Leadership by the President of the U.S. will be needed at the Conference of the Parties in Paris (November 30 – December 11, 2015) negotiating next steps for world action under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to keep the rise in global surface temperature below 2º C.

Read the NBC News story and quotes from Dr. Byrne here:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/breaking-ice-obama-seeks-cement-climate-change-legacy-n418061

Note: In addition to leading FREE, Dr. Byrne is director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Delaware.

The BMC annually procures nearly $150 million of electricity, natural gas and heating oil through its cooperative purchasing committee on behalf of a dozen local governments and a large number of school districts, community colleges, and non-profit institutions. FREE’s Dr. Byrne, its program counsel C. Baird Brown (Drinker Biddle) and its financial advisor Trenton Allen (Sustainable Capital Advisors) were pleased to have the opportunity to discuss financing of sustainable energy infrastructure opportunities with members of the BMC, including their experience with large-scale energy conservation projects, solar city development, pooled financing for multi-jurisdiction street lighting and microgrids.

A full 37 years after President Carter’s speech, the White House is finally once again the owner of a photovoltaic (PV) system installation. To con- tinue on the road ahead, this Policy Note outlines a strategy that seeks to reconnect people to energy, redirect the U.S. towards a green energy econ- omy, and reposition the U.S. as a global leader in green energy matters.

At the outset, the strategy realizes that conventional pathways to support green energy largely take place without meaningful levels of public partici- pation as they are structured around the energy utility…

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City officials and staff know that significant budget savings can be realized from reducing energy consumption. One cost- effective way to reduce energy usage and expense is by replacing less efficient devices and poorly performing buildings with much better, energy-efficient equipment and facilities.

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency recently estimated the market potential for profitable energy efficiency to be more than $1 trillion…

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WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today announced nearly $4 billion in combined federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next 2 years. These investments will save billions in energy costs, promote energy independence, and, according to independent estimates, create tens of thousands of jobs in the hard-hit construction sector.

The $4 billion investment announced today includes a $2 billion commitment, made through the issuance of a Presidential Memorandum, to energy upgrades of federal buildings using long term energy savings to pay for up-front costs, at no cost to taxpayers…

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