Washington, D.C., November 5, 2008 – The Alliance to Save Energy today urged President-Elect Barack Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to make building a sustainable energy future for America a key priority upon taking office in January.  President-elect Obama’s “New Energy for America” plan correctly cites energy efficiency as the “cheapest, cleanest, fastest energy source” and calls for new energy efficiency policies and substantial federal investment in energy efficiency to help reduce U.S. oil dependence, create new jobs, and curb climate change, the Alliance said.  

The recently-released Dingell-Boucher Discussion Draft resurrects the issue of climate change legislation for the new 111th Congress, recalling such matters as the price of carbon, and - of particular interest to the Alliance - provisions for energy efficiency.

Here, the Alliance gives a first impression of this climate discussion draft, and offers a detailed summary of the drafts's potential for instigating real change on the Hill and beyond. An updated side-by-side comparison of various climate bills is coming soon.

October 17 – This morning I had the great honor of moderating an international panel at the World Leadership Conference in Pittsburgh, PA, hosted by the International Women’s Forum.

President Bush recently signed into law new consumer tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements, as well as purchases of plug-in hybrid vehicles. These provisions were included in H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which the president signed on October 3, 2008. The homeowner tax credits are largely the same – but not identical – to those that expired at the end of 2007, and begin again on January 1, 2009.

For details on the consumer tax credits, check out our recently updated Energy-Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits web page.

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