FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2009
Contact:
Kristina Johnson (415) 977-5619
David Willett (202) 675-6698
Federal Report Proposes Important Energy Efficiency Measures
Retrofitting Plan Will Create Jobs, Save Money, and Combat Global Warming
Washington, D.C. Vice President Biden announced the release today of the "Recovery through Retrofit" report, which lays out a federal plan for capturing energy savings by retrofitting homes.
"This report represents a huge step forward," said Sierra Club Clean Energy Solutions representative Allison Forbes. "By committing to ambitious residential energy efficiency measures, the Obama administration can help create good, family-supporting jobs, save families money on their energy bills, and combat global warming."
The Sierra Club has been working with labor, business and community partners to push for ambitious federal, state and local energy efficiency measures. Key challenges include providing consumers with access to information, making energy efficiency investments affordable, and developing quality training and workforce development programs. At the request of Vice President Biden, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) led an interagency working group consisting of eleven Departments and Agencies and six White House Offices to develop proposals aimed at expanding green jobs and increasing home energy savings.
Monday's federal report is expected to lay out a roadmap to achieve these goals. According to the report, “existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually by 2020. Retrofitting existing homes also has the potential to cut home energy bills by $21 billion annually.”
"In order to effectively combat global warming, we need to rapidly and effectively upgrade the energy efficiency of thirty percent of our existing homes," Forbes said. "The good news is that retrofitting homes can also create good, family-supporting jobs and save money in these uncertain economic times."
The Sierra Club's Clean Energy Solutions Campaign has been working with the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), partners in the Blue-Green Alliance to launch this ambitious retrofit effort.
On National Weatherization Day, October 30, in cities around the country, the Sierra Club will showcase local low-income energy assistance programs and the emerging retrofit industry.