Ada Recinos at ada.recinos@sierraclub.org (Pacific Time)
Today, the White House Task Force on Climate, Trade, and Industrial Competitiveness announced that the Department of Energy will build rigorous, timely, and accurate statistics on the greenhouse gas intensity of certain energy-intensive industrial products. The data will then be used to develop a greenhouse gas intensity measurement tool that would be adopted here and abroad. Sierra Club applauds this initiative as a tool that will ensure the success of ongoing measures to rapidly decarbonize the American industry.
CeCe Grant, Sierra Club’s Industrial Transformation Campaign Director stated the following regarding the announcement:
“We cannot improve what we do not measure. The United States has made significant investments in technologies and public policy measures that are intended to move us in the right direction. However, strict accountability of industry performance will be essential to measure success and keep the country and our trade partners fixed on the path of continued improvement. Without such accountability, it will be difficult to distinguish tangible changes from mere intentions – this pilot is a step in the right direction.”
The U.S. government has committed billions of dollars towards the industry’s adoption of new technologies that would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Federal and state-level measures also exist to bolster these investments by prioritizing the government purchase of products made with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. The accounting tool that is now in development will ensure that the products made with innovative low-emissions technology can prove their climate credentials and allow public and private consumers to decide the climate impact of their purchases.
In addition, the tool will help position US exporters for success as the European Union introduces a fee on goods based on greenhouse gas emissions intensity. Currently, European authorities are positioned to unilaterally determine this fee on American products entering the European market while the US government does not have the means to check or correct their assessment. As American manufacturers are poised to produce the best climate-competitive products, the initiative from the Department of Energy will help protect innovators from potential unfair treatment and support leadership in curbing climate change.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.