Climate Change
Transportation

Western Governors Push Obama for Immediate Clean Energy Plan

By

December 1, 2008

On November 20, the Western Governors Association (WGA) wrote a letter to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to quickly adopt and implement an energy plan that will provide affordable and clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other goals. The letter states that "We must have the collective political will and resolve to create and implement a long-term comprehensive energy policy despite short-term political and market fluctuations. The future of our nation depends upon it."
 

As part of the plan, WGA urged President-elect Obama to implement seven key policy initiatives within the first 100 days of his administration:

  • Establish an aggressive and achievable national greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal that will put the United States on a path to contribute to global climate stabilization.
  • Propose a mandatory, national market-based system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Aggressively pursue a national energy efficiency program.
  • Establish an oil import reduction goal by bringing more fuel efficient and near-zero emission vehicles to market, increasing domestic production of low carbon fuels, and reducing vehicle travel demand.
  • Create a substantial, long-term national public investment on the scale of tens of billions of dollars annually, and encourage at least the same investment from the private sector, to support the kind of basic and applied research and deployment of clean energy technology and infrastructure
  • Ensure affordability for lower income energy consumers through energy efficiency and cost assistance programs.
  • Provide for workforce development and clean energy jobs, adaptation to climate change impacts, reduced consumer impacts, particularly for low-income consumers, and transition assistance to industries.

The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific.
 

Please click here to read the WGA letter (pdf format).