Policy

President Bush recently signed into law new consumer tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements, as well as purchases of plug-in hybrid vehicles. These provisions were included in H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which the president signed on October 3, 2008. The homeowner tax credits are largely the same – but not identical – to those that expired at the end of 2007, and begin again on January 1, 2009.

For details on the consumer tax credits, check out our recently updated Energy-Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits web page.

Every year in the United States, buildings are responsible for 38% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy use, and 70% of electricity use. Building energy codes are a key tool in reducing the two-fifths of U.S. energy use.

On April 10 2008, Alliance President Kateri Callahan and Director of Policy Lowell Ungar participated in two briefings about building energy codes as a response to climate change. Presentations from those briefings are available here.

The President signed into law the most sweeping energy efficiency legislation ever enacted on December 19, 2007. H.R. 6, The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, is projected to save American consumers and businesses more than $400 billion through 2030, and will reduce energy consumption by 7% and greenhouse gas emissions by 9% from the forecast for 2030, according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

Building codes are a vital part of reducing energy use in commercial and residential buildings. The Alliance to Save Energy is working with numerous organizations to enact a provision in the House energy bill that will make a dramatic improvement in building energy codes.

A recent report from the Alliance to Save Energy says computer data centers offer an important area for increasing the nation’s energy efficiency. The report also notes policies and measures that could help mitigate the energy used by this emerging sector.