Crank down the air conditioners and dim the lights-President Clinton has issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to slash energy consumption 35 percent by 2010.
The order, issued Thursday at a Cabinet meeting, aims to reduce energy consumption 30 percent by 2005 and 35 percent by 2010, compared to 1985 levels. Agencies are encouraged to use less energy to heat, cool and light federal buildings and to use innovative contracts with private firms to help reduce energy consumption.
To set the pace for the new energy goals, Clinton also announced the largest ever energy saving performance contract, which the Defense Department is expected to award later this month. The 18-year contract will upgrade energy performance at more than 800 buildings at five military installations in the Washington area. The move is projected to save more than $200 million over the life of the contract, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by about 25 percent.
The contract is unique, said Todd Stern, the President's coordinator for climate change. "The contractor pays all the up-front costs, and then in turn gets paid out of energy cost reductions. So it's a very good deal for the federal government, and part of the mission of this order is to direct agencies to do a lot more of this kind of thing," Stern said.
According to the White House, meeting the new goals will save taxpayers $750 million a year, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 2.4 million metric tons-equal to taking about 1.7 million cars off the road. "As the single largest consumer of energy in our country, the federal government should be leading the way. That is why today I am directing all federal departments and agencies to take steps to markedly improve the energy efficiency of our buildings," Clinton said.
Clinton signed a similar executive order in 1994, requiring the federal government to reduce its energy consumption 30 percent from 1985 levels by 2005. Agencies were halfway to that goal as of fiscal 1996. In January of this year, the Energy Department reported that the government was "well on the way" to meeting the mandate.
The new order would go even further, establishing a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2010. Scientists attribute global warming to greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. The White House signed a 1997 agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012, but the treaty, known as the Kyoto climate agreement, has still not been ratified by Congress.
To ensure agencies comply with the new order, several accountability measures are included. For example, agencies must include costs associated with achieving their energy goals in annual budget submissions, and develop an annual implementation report on how to meet those goals. That report is to be included in another annual report to the President on progress the agency has made toward its energy goals. The Office of Management and Budget will score each agency on its progress and submit those scorecards to the President.
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