Developments at CPC
Happy About Homestar
The Obama Administration’s Homestar program, sometimes referred to as “Cash for Caulkers,” is based on improving energy efficiency. The program identifies supplies and systems that save energy over time. The program makes homeowners eligible for an immediate 50 percent rebate for an energy efficiency upgrade, up to $3000 at the point of purchase.
Forty percent of our nation’s energy usage is for homes and buildings; as the President noted in his remarks announcing the program in Savannah, GA, “this is a common-sense approach that will help jumpstart job creation while making our economy stronger.”
The $6 billion "Cash for Caulkers" program will provide instant rebates to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient by installing new windows, doors, insulation and other materials that reduce energy use and carbon emissions. While primarily designed to help consumers themselves, the Homestar program will have a positive financial impact on manufacturers, investors, and vendors who are currently providing and installing these materials.
The Senate Energy Committee will review legislation and legislative proposals on the Homestar program on Thursday, March 11, 2010.
CA-CP’s PLI report, Building a Foundation for Success: Recommendations for Early Action on Climate Change, recommended a national effort be initiated to retrofit half of America’s existing homes and buildings by 2020 with an average energy savings of 30 percent. To date, electricity demand has risen by more than 50 percent since 1980 in the commercial and residential sectors, exposing many Americans to changing electricity prices and also increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this rise in demand is for power for buildings – homes, offices, and factories.
Investing in building energy efficiency now will save up to half the cost of producing the same power from a new power plant. Thus, a national effort to drive energy efficiency will cut costs for those that retrofit, and lower electricity costs for all by avoiding the construction of new and expensive polluting power plants. In addition, it will create jobs, especially in the hard-hit home construction industry, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
To read “Remarks by the President on Energy Efficiency in Savannah, Georgia at Savannah Technical College”
click here.
From page 23 of CA-CP’s report, Building a Foundation for Success: Recommendations for Early Action on Climate Change:
"Initiate a national effort to retrofit half of America’s existing homes and buildings by 2020 with an average energy savings of 30%. To date, electricity demand has risen by over 50% since 1980 in the commercial and residential sectors, exposing many Americans to changing electricity prices and also increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Most of this rise in demand is to provide power for buildings – homes, offices, and factories. Investing in building energy efficiency now will save up to half the cost of producing the same power from a new power plant. Thus, a national effort to drive energy efficiency will cut costs for those that retrofit, and lower electricity costs for all by avoiding the construction of expensive new polluting power plants. In addition, it will create jobs, especially in the hard-hit home construction industry, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
Reflections on the Climate Change Challenge
after Copenhagen
Brooks B. Yeager, Executive Vice President for Policy
Amid the catcalls and the legitimate disappointment felt regarding the outcome of the recent two week diplomatic extravaganza in Copenhagen, it’s easy to overlook the one fact that makes what has come to be known as the “Copenhagen Accord” a significant step forward -- it’s the first truly global program of action to deal with climate change. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was just that – a framework. The Kyoto Protocol was an action program, but only for the developed world (minus the U.S.), although it included mechanisms by which the well-off countries could fund emissions reductions in the developing world and the emerging economies of post-Soviet eastern Europe. Read the full article.
Related Article: How will the Copenhagen Accord Affect the Challenge of Invasive Species?
On Jan. 11, 2010 during Invasive Species Awareness Week, Executive VP Brooks Yeager gave the keynote address at the National Invasive Species Council annual meeting. Read the full address here.
New Climate Legislation Introduced in Senate by Cantwell, Collins
Senators Maria Cantwell (D) of Washington and Susan Collins (R) of Maine have introduced new climate legislation, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act. The bill is a cap-and-trade proposal regulating greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion that would reduce emissions by 83% by 2050. The legislation includes a price collar that escalates over time, beginning with a floor price of $7 per metric ton of CO2e and a ceiling price of $21 per metric ton of CO2e. The bill requires that 100% of the allowances be auctioned and 75% of the auction revenue be given as a monthly dividend to legal residents of the US, with the remaining 25% of the revenues spent on specified R&D, investment, and measures designed to compensate for higher energy prices.
"We applaud Senators Cantwell and Collins for their legislation,” said Rafe Pomerance, senior fellow and former president of Clean Air-Cool Planet. “The Cantwell-Collins bill contains significant protection for consumers and an effective and efficient design for achieving emissions reductions. They have included provisions for real cost containment by including a price collar and established provisions to return auction revenues directly to consumers. Their legislation can be the basis for a broad-based, bipartisan effort to find a solution for cap-and-trade legislation that can garner the necessary support in the Senate and ultimately in a conference with the House."
For further information, visit our cap-and-trade resource page.
