NEWSROOM

Commission Congratulates President and Congress on Historic Energy Law

Wednesday, December 19, 2007
 

December 19, 2007

 

For more information, contact:
Paul Bledsoe   202-637-0400
pbledsoe@energycommission.org

 

For Immediate Release

December 19, 2007

                                                                  

 

Commission Congratulates President and Congress on

Historic Energy Law

 

(Washington, D.C.) - The National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP), a bipartisan group of leading energy experts, congratulated President Bush and the Congress on achieving the most significant improvements in U.S. oil security in more than three decades after the President signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 into law today.  The law's two most significant provisions, to increase U.S. fuel economy by 10 miles per gallon by 2020 and to boost production of biofuels, mirror recommendations made by the Commission in December 2004 and April 2007.

 

"This law marks the beginning of a new era in national energy policy," said William K. Reilly, former EPA Administrator and Commission co-chair.   "This era will be characterized by a recognition that our national security, economic competitiveness and environmental security are all at risk, and will demand more serious and innovative energy approaches.  The President and the Congress deserve credit for delivering large consumer savings and oil security benefits.  Much more remains to be done." 

 

""Greater efficiency of energy use needs to be a cornerstone of any sensible energy policy.  This law represents an important albeit incomplete down payment on getting serious about the efficiency option," said John Holdren, Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard University and Commission co-chair.

 

"The political landscape of energy is changing," said John W. Rowe, Commission co-chair and Chairman and CEO of Exelon Corp.  "Both parties are realizing that effective policies require willingness to abandoned cherished myths from both right and left.   This new realism will be of even greater importance in coming months as the country requires increased energy production while at the same time developing effective legislation to reduce greenhouse emissions."

 

The measure that became law today to increase the fuel efficiency of American automobiles, the first such statutory action since 1975, is similar to the "reform and strengthen" Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) proposal initially put forth by NCEP in December 2004, and updated in April of 2007. 

The law will raise fuel economy from approximately 24.7 miles per gallon today to 35 mpg by 2020- almost exactly the rate the Commission has advocated. 

 

Less noticed, but critical to the measure's adoption by Congress and support by key constituencies, are reforms to use permit trading to reduce compliance costs in the CAFÉ programs, and to institute an attribute-based regulatory system-also nearly identical to those advocated by the Commission. These market-based reforms would provide domestic manufacturers greater flexibility in vehicle production.    In addition, the bill mandates the expansion of biofuels, especially advanced biofuels, which the Commission has long advocated.   The law also requires further development of carbon capture and sequestration technology, including a national assessment of capacity to sequester, and requirements for greater energy efficiency in federal buildings, among others recommendations made the Commission.