For Immediate Release:
October 3, 2008
Contact: Josh Dorner, 202-675-2384
Clean Energy Tax Incentives Will Create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs
Good Measures Come at Cost--Dirty Fuel Provisions tacked on to Finance Package
Washington, DC: Statement of Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope on the passage of the financial markets rescue plan:
"We are relieved that the financial package that has now passed the House and Senate includes vital job-saving extensions of tax incentives to support investment in and production of clean renewable energy as well as energy efficiency products and programs. The extension of these provisions will save tens of thousands of jobs that were already at risk, and paves the way for hundreds of thousands more to be created in the years to come."
"Last December, these job-saving measures were stripped from comprehensive energy legislation. Though each body had passed different versions of the clean energy tax incentives a number of times, the two bodies had been unable until now to come to final agreement."
"Passage of these benefits for renewable energy such as wind, solar, geothermal and energy efficient appliances and automobiles will help get the economy back on the right track but they did not come without a cost. In the final negotiations to get a bill through the Senate, a handful of "dirty fuels" provisions were tacked on that provide financial incentives for the refining of tar sands, and oil shale and programs that support liquid coal.
"It is outrageous that every time Congress tries to pass clean energy measures, the allies of Big Oil and Coal demand a ransom. The Sierra Club strongly objected to these provisions but while we regret the addition of these environmentally harmful provisions to the package, we nevertheless urged members of Congress to renew the urgently needed extensions of tax incentives to support clean energy and energy efficiency technologies."
"Passing these renewable energy tax incentives for wind and solar represents one of the most important ways America can enable the transition to a clean energy economy. Supporting investment in these clean energy technologies will create new high wage American jobs, save consumers money on their energy bills and reduce global warming pollution."
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