Markey praises Obama for commitment to energy efficiency

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of twin climate and energy panels in the House and co-author of the Waxman-Markey climate legislation, today issued the following statement after President Obama’s speech on energy efficiency.

“While the international community works in Copenhagen to reduce the carbon up in the atmosphere, we can start right in our homes,” said Markey. “I applaud the President for reminding us we have a great opportunity to ‘think globally and act locally’—by conducting energy saving measures in our own homes.”

“Energy efficiency programs show that clean energy legislation can create new jobs and save families money. This effort to promote energy efficient retrofits gives new meaning to the Home Depot slogan, ‘you can do it—we can help.’”

The Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454), which passed out of the House of Representatives earlier this year, includes energy efficiency provisions and investments likely to exceed $100 billion through 2025, including:

• A renewable electricity and energy efficiency standard that requires utilities to obtain 20 percent of their energy from renewables and efficiency by 2020. This would put utilities in the business of helping their customers use energy more efficiently;
• Enhanced building codes that achieve 30% and 50% higher energy efficiency in 2010 and 2016;
• Cost-effective energy efficiency programs for natural gas consumers;
• State and local government funds for implementing renewable energy and efficiency projects;
• Increased appliance and lighting standards;
• Building efficiency program for retrofitting existing residential and commercial buildings;
• Energy efficient manufactured home program provides rebates toward purchases of new Energy Star-rated manufactured homes for low-income families residing in pre-1976 manufactured homes.

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