INITIAL CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIONS

October 22, 1997

President Clinton has proposed nine immediate actions to begin addressing climate change:

1. Tax Cuts and Federal R&D: To spur energy efficiency and the development of lower-carbon energy sources, the Administration supports a major new package of tax cuts and R&D spending amounting to $5 billion over five years. Many of the ideas from the recent report of the President’s Committee on Science and Technology (PCAST) will be considered in constructing this package.
2. Credit for Early Action: To provide an immediate incentive for near-term actions to cut emissions, the Administration is committed to ensuring that firms which act early are rewarded appropriately. We will work with companies to build a program that appropriately rewards those who take prompt and early actions before the beginning of the mandatory emissions budget period in Stage 3.
3. Industry-by-Industry Consultations: The Administration challenges key industry sectors to prepare plans over the next 9 months on how they can best reduce emissions, including how the Federal government can remove regulatory hurdles that discourage energy efficiency. The Administration will work in partnership with industry to develop sensible efficiency standards in a variety of areas.
4. Encouraging the Use of Energy-Efficient Products: As the Department of Energy’s 5-Labs study illustrates, many existing technologies produce win-win solutions to reducing carbon emissions -- but nonetheless are still not widely used. The President is committed to expanding their reach. He will therefore complement his other programs by engaging in a broad-based effort to expand the use of existing energy-efficient technologies -- while also spurring the development of new technologies.
5. Federal Procurement and Energy Use: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Federal sources, DOE will spearhead a comprehensive effort that includes expanded performance contracting to make Federal buildings more energy-efficient, improved Federal procurement of energy-efficient technology, and partnerships to improve the energy efficiency of Federal aircraft, ships and vehicles. Federal agencies will also be called upon to assess emissions in major initiatives.
6. Electricity Restructuring: To spur further efforts to clean our air and deliver a downpayment on greenhouse gas emission reductions, while saving consumers billions, we will pursue a bold plan to restructure the energy sector. It is time to change the rules that are often more than 70 years old -- stifling innovations that can save money and impede newer, cleaner technologies.
7. Setting a Concentration Goal for Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere: The goal of the existing climate treaty is to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases, but the specific concentration has never been defined. The U.S. supports developing a specific, long-term goal, with the assistance of the National Academy of Science and other appropriate bodies.
8. Bilateral Dialogues: In addition to pursuing agreement in Kyoto, the Administration will pursue bilateral dialogues with key developing countries to promote clean energy.
9. Economics and Science Reviews: The President proposes regular scientific and economic reviews, to ensure that policy-makers have the best possible information on climate change.