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The United States Climate Alliance has urged Secretary Perry and the U.S. Department of Energy to withdraw a proposed rule that dramatically weakens energy efficiency standards for general service lamps, which account for a significant percentage of Americans’ total electricity consumed.
The current standards have saved residents in Alliance states hundreds of billions of dollars while reducing energy use and carbon pollution. Energy efficiency standards are a proven, cost-effective tool to help states uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement while saving consumers and businesses money on their energy bills. Today’s LED light bulbs are an American success story, made possible by common sense, bipartisan energy efficiency standards. Alliance states stand ready to take the steps necessary to protect the environmental and economic health of their residents.
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the previous administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, at least 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to demonstrate that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and better public health. While reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, Alliance members increased their collective GDP by 30%. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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