Clean Energy News

Trenton, NJ – Today, the Clean Energy Works (CEW) campaign held a telephone conference to call attention to the need for urgent action on comprehensive clean energy legislation this year.  This follows the introduction of the clean energy bill in the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today, which includes Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). 

Today’s event brought together a diverse group of clean energy supporters from labor, business, environmental and national security leaders who say now is the time to for America to take back control of its economic and energy future by transitioning to clean energy.

“This is the first shot in the Senate on the battle against the fossil fuel industry to move America towards a clean energy future,” said Doug O’Malley, field director for Environment New Jersey.  “Sen. Lautenberg and Sen. Menendez deserve strong praise for their work to strengthen the bill, but we still need them to fight to strengthen and pass this clean energy legislation this year.”

The U.S. Senate legislation, the Clean Jobs and American Energy Act, mirrors legislation that was passed by the House three months ago, and in certain areas, strengthens key provisions. The bill will reduce global warming emissions by 20% from 2005 levels by 2020 and by over 80% by 2050, which mirrors the targets the New Jersey Legislature passed two years ago, by establishing a cap and trade system for pollution emissions.

While the bill does strengthen the emissions reductions and fixes a critical loophole which would have restricted the EPA from regulating global warming pollution from the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants, it does not address how pollution allowances will be distributed, and how much will go toward clean energy and efficiency solutions. The legislation also allows emissions from coal mine methane and natural gas extraction to count as off-sets for polluters.

“Today is an important day in moving our country forward. This legislation will ensure that America will have a good economy and a good environment,” said Jeff Tittel, the NJ Sierra Club Director.  “We can have green jobs and energy independence while we battle climate change.”

 Here in New Jersey alone, passage of Senate clean energy legislation would create more than 47,000 jobs, according to study by UMass and Center for American Progress-PERI, while reducing harmful carbon pollution and breaking our dependence on foreign oil.  Polls show nearly two thirds of the American people want Senate action on clean energy policies this year.

“Putting a price on carbon sends a signal into the marketplace that builds investor confidence and spur investment in clean technologies,” said Pam Frank of Sun Farm Network, a New Jersey solar company based out of Flemington. “A price on carbon effectively aligns economic benefit with the right outcomes for our country and our planet.”  

                                                                                                                                                                                  Energy efficiency provisions in the legislation would save the average New Jersey household over $258 a year, and reduce annual carbon emissions in New Jersey by 8.5 tons by the year 2020. The efficiency provisions would also prevent 15 million metric tons of global warming emissions a year - the equivalent of removing the pollution from over 2.7 million cars from the road. 

“It’s time to harness the power of American ingenuity to put thousands of people back to work and save New Jersey consumers and businesses money on their energy bills,” said Wayne Richardson, LIUNA Local 55 President. “By supporting strong energy efficiency components in the energy and climate legislation, our senators can bring home big economic results when their constituents need them most.”

Our dependence on oil also ties our hands in foreign policy, funds terrorists, and entangles us with hostile regimes. America has less than 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves yet uses 25 percent of the world’s oil supply.  In 2007, America spent more than $360 billion importing fossil fuels, with the vast majority of that money spent on crude oil.  Those funds are a direct transfer of wealth from our consumers to oil companies and often-unstable, often-unfriendly foreign governments. 

 “America faces unprecedented economic, national security and environmental challenges,” said Aaron Scheinberg, the New Jersey coordinator for Operation FREE, a coalition of national security groups and military veterans.  “Now is the time to act so that we’re no longer sending billions of dollars to hostile foreign regimes, which hurts our economy, helps our enemies, and puts our security at risk.”

The coalition outlined the positive steps forward in the legislation, as well as a key major weakening change:

3 major strengthening changes: 1) The Clean Jobs and American Energy Act bill requires covered sources to cut global warming pollution by 20% by 2020, compared with 17% by 2020 in the House version.

 2) The Clean Jobs and American Energy Act does not repeal core parts of the Clean Air Act that require existing power plants, oil refineries, and other large smokestack industries to eventually meet modern pollution standards for carbon.  (The House bill repealed EPA’s authority to issue New Source Performance Standards for global warming gases from existing stationary sources capped under the bill and New Source Review for global warming gases from all stationary sources.

 3) The Clean Jobs and American Energy Act includes much stronger planning requirements to reduce global warming pollution from the transportation sector, with provisions targeted at getting communities of 200,000 or more to plan for more public transportation.

1 major weakening change: The Clean Jobs and American Energy Act eliminates the requirement in the House-passed bill that the United States reduce emissions from landfills, coal mine methane, and fugitive emissions from natural gas extraction by meeting new source performance standards.  Instead, the Senate bill allows those sources to qualify for offsets, which will effectively increase the emissions allowed under the bill by more than 120 million metric tons per year in 2020 according to EPA estimates (equivalent to about 2% of total U.S. emissions in 2020).  In addition, incentivizing the production of methane from landfills could result in increased emissions of methane from landfills if operators change practices to increase methane production.

Speakers at today’s telephone conference say special interests can no longer be allowed to stand in the way of America’s clean energy future.

 “Oil companies, lobbyists and special interests have fought energy reform for decades to protect their profits,” said O’Malley.  “They’ve kept us dependent on foreign oil and protected corporations that pollute the air our children breathe and the water they drink. This bill would change that by making New Jersey and America a leader in creating a clean energy jobs economy.”        

Clean Energy Works is a diverse coalition of more than 60 grassroots organizations representing more than 12 million Americans. For information visit http://cleanenergyworks.us/