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Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release February 3, 2000
President Clinton's FY2001 Climate Change Budget
"The greatest environmental challenge of the new century is global
warming ... If we fail to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases,
deadly heat waves and droughts will become more frequent, coastal areas
will flood, and economies will be disrupted. That is going to happen,
unless we act. Many people ... still believe you cannot cut
greenhouse gas emissions without slowing economic growth. In the
Industrial Age that may well have been true. But in this digital
economy, it is not true anymore. New technologies make it possible to
cut harmful emissions and provide even more growth."
-- President Bill Clinton,
State of the Union Address,
January 27, 2000
Meeting the Challenge of Global Warming. Against a backdrop of growing
scientific consensus that the Earth is warming -- and that human
activities are at least partly to blame -- President Clinton's FY 2001
budget is proposing over $2.4 billion (a more than 40 percent increase
over FY 2000 enacted levels) in funding to combat global climate change.
This includes a series of new initiatives, such as accelerated efforts
to develop clean energy sources both at home and abroad and a new Clean
Air Partnership Fund to boost state and local efforts to reduce
greenhouse gases and air pollution, as well as a five-year package of
tax incentives to spur clean energy technologies and increased
investment for R&D in energy efficient technology and renewable energy.
In addition, the President is proposing more than $1.7 billion for
global change research, for a total package for FY 2001 of over $4
billion.
International Clean Energy Initiative. To help accelerate the
development and deployment of clean energy technologies around the
world, President Clinton is proposing $200 million this year (more than
a 100 percent increase over FY 2000 enacted levels) for a multi-agency
initiative to encourage open competitive markets; remove market barriers
in developing countries to clean energy technologies; and to provide new
incentives for clean energy technology innovation and export. The
initiative will promote U.S. clean energy exports, create high-value
jobs, and assist developing countries in fighting air pollution and
climate change.
Bioenergy & Bio-based Products Initiative. The budget includes $289
million to accelerate the development of bio-based technologies, which
convert crops, trees and other "biomass" into a vast array of fuels and
products - an increase of $93 million over FY 2000 enacted levels. In
addition to helping meet environmental challenges like global warming,
this initiative will increase the viability of alternative energy
sources, support farm incomes, and diversify and strengthen the rural
economy.
Clean Air Partnership Fund. The President proposes $85 million for a
new fund to provide grants to state and local governments for projects
that reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants like soot, smog, and air
toxics.
Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI). The CCTI is a package of
targeted tax incentives and investments aimed at increasing energy
efficiency and spurring the broader use of renewable energy. The
package will save consumers money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at
the same time. CCTI investments have risen substantially each of the
past two years. The President's new budget proposes a still more
accelerated effort.
$4.0 billion in Tax Incentives over 5 years. The proposed package
contains $4.0 billion over five years in tax cuts ($201 million for
FY 2001) for consumers who purchase energy efficient products and
for producers of energy from renewable sources. This year's CCTI
tax package is $400 million more than last year's proposed
five-year package. Highlights include:
- Tax credits for energy efficient homes. Consumers can receive
a $1000-2000 credit toward the purchase of a new energy
efficient home; a 20 percent tax credit for the purchase of
selected energy efficient products for homes and buildings;
and a $1000-2000 credit for installing a solar energy system.
- Tax credits for fuel-efficient cars. The package extends the
current tax credit (up to $4000) through 2006 for qualified
electric and fuel cell vehicles and also includes a tax credit
of $500-3000 for the purchase of a qualifying hybrid vehicle
from 2003-2006.
- Tax credits for clean energy. The package extends the 1.5
cent per kilowatt hour tax credit for the production of
electricity from wind and closed-loop biomass; provides
credits for open-loop biomass facilities and coal-biomass
cofiring; and provides credits for electricity produced from
methane from certain landfills.
$1.4 billion for Energy Efficiency & Renewables. The proposed
package contains over $1.4 billion in FY 2001 to research, develop,
and deploy clean technologies for the four major carbon-emitting
sectors of the economy -- buildings, transportation, industry, and
electricity -- a 30 percent increase over the amount appropriated
in FY 2000. Highlights include:
- Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. PNGV is a
government-industry effort to develop comfortable, affordable
cars that meet all applicable safety and environmental
standards and get up to three times the fuel efficiency of
today's cars. The combined proposal for PNGV in the FY 2001
budget is $255 million, an increase of $30 million over FY
2000 enacted levels.
- Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing. PATH is a
government-industry partnership to improve the energy
efficiency of new homes by more than 50 percent and to
retrofit 15 million existing homes to make them 30 percent
more energy efficient within a decade. The FY 2001 budget
request for building efficiency efforts, such as PATH, Energy
Star, and Building America, totals $275 million, a 42 percent
increase over FY 2000 appropriations.
- Renewable Energy. The President proposes $410 million for the
Department of Energy's solar and renewable energy programs, a
32 percent increase over the amount appropriated in FY 2000.
The package includes expanded efforts in key renewable
technologies, such as wind, bioenergy, photovoltaics, and
geothermal energy.
Cleaner Fossil Fuels. The budget request contains $233 million for R&D
to develop next-generation technologies for coal combustion with much
higher energy efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Weatherization & State Energy Grants. The budget request includes $191
million -- a $22 million increase over FY 2000 appropriations -- to
deliver energy conservation services to low-income Americans and to
assist state energy offices in addressing their energy priorities.
U.S. Global Change Research Program. The FY 2001 request includes over
$1.7 billion for scientific research to improve our understanding of
human and natural forces that influence the Earth's climate system and
to assess the likely consequences of global warming.
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