WHITE HOUSE PROGRESS REPORT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

PROGRESS REPORT: President Obama’s Climate Action Plan

Today – one year after the President laid out his comprehensive Climate Action Plan – the White House released a new report detailing progress towards cutting carbon pollution and protecting our communities and public health.

In the year since the President’s speech at Georgetown University, the Administration has announced new efficiency standards, permitted renewable energy projects on public lands, and proposed carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants. Alongside state, tribal, local, and private sector partners, the Administration is taking steps to make our communities more resilient to the effects of severe weather and is working with other countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases internationally. In fact, when fully implemented, the policies put forward just in the past year since the President’s Plan was released will:

• Cut nearly 3 billion tons of carbon pollution between 2020 and 2025, an amount equivalent to taking more than 600 million cars off the road for a year;
• Enable the development of 8,100 megawatts of wind, solar, and geothermal energy, enough to power nearly 2 million homes;
• Train more than 50,000 workers to enter the solar industry;
• Save consumers more than $60 billion on their energy bills through 2030;
• Improve the energy efficiency of more than 1 billion square feet of city buildings, schools, multifamily housing complexes, and business across the country, an area the size of 17,000 football fields; and
• Protect the health of vulnerable Americans, including children and the elderly, by preventing 150,000 asthma attacks and up to 3,300 heart attacks. 

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON REAUTHORIZATION ACT REGARDING DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Statement by the President

Today, I signed the National Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act into law. This bipartisan legislation ensures that the federal government can continue to provide timely, effective drought warning forecasts and vital support to communities that are vulnerable to drought.  States, cities, towns, farmers, and businesses rely on tools and data from the National Integrated Drought Information System to make informed decisions about water use, crop planting, wildfire response, and other critical areas.  As climate change increases the intensity of weather-related disasters such as droughts, wildfires, storms and floods, providing access to updated drought-related science and tools is growing even more important.

Currently, a number of Western states are facing drought conditions, including a severe drought in California, and my Administration is pursuing every measure to provide relief and support in partnership with States. To complement the National Integrated Drought Information System, as part of my Climate Action Plan, federal agencies have also formed a National Drought Resilience Partnership to help communities better prepare for droughts in the long term, and prevent the worst impacts on families and businesses.  I commend Congress for passing this bipartisan bill to continue to build our national resilience to drought and help communities, farmers, businesses and individuals better prepare and recover when disaster strikes.

PRESIDENT'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN REVIEWED BY GSA

FROM:  GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
President's Climate Action Plan R
Review of the President's Climate Action Plan
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
“Review of the President’s Climate Action Plan”

January 16, 2014

Good morning Chairman Boxer, Ranking Member Vitter, and Members of the Committee. I appreciate being invited here today to testify on this important topic.

Last year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office added climate change to its High Risk List, citing that it presents “a significant financial risk to the federal government.” According to the National Climatic Data Center, in 2012 weather and climate disaster events caused over $110 billion in damages, making it the second costliest year on record.

This Administration is committed to reducing the damage caused by climate change, and to preparing for its impacts, both in the long term as well as those we are already experiencing. In June 2013, the President reaffirmed this commitment with a Climate Action Plan that directs agencies to: cut carbon pollution; prepare for the impacts of climate change; and lead international efforts to address global climate change.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is one of the many Federal agencies doing its part to assist in this effort. As the landlord and caretaker of federal properties, GSA owns or leases 9,624 assets, which includes maintaining an inventory of more than 370 million rentable square feet of workspace, and preserving more than 481 historic properties. This large and diverse portfolio presents many opportunities for GSA to increase energy efficiency, reduce our contribution to climate change, save millions of dollars in energy costs and to plan and implement risk management.

As part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, GSA is improving the efficiency of our Federal buildings, identifying and preparing for climate risks, and working to ensure that we share lessons learned with our partner agencies.

Reducing Impact on Climate Change –

GSA reduces energy consumption across its portfolio through a variety of means. GSA leverages technology such as advanced metering, remote building analytics and smart building systems to uncover deeper energy savings opportunities. Advanced meters, which provide real time energy use information, have been installed in 450 buildings, representing 80% of GSA’s total electricity consumption metered. Continuous enhancements to the system, ongoing training of users, use of detailed historical data and expert modeling are all proven methods which are increasing energy efficiency at lesser cost.

GSA uses rapid building assessments to perform sophisticated energy audits that require no onsite work or new device installations. Such remote analytics have resulted in significant cost savings over traditional audits and have identified additional energy savings opportunities.

The President’s Climate Action Plan also highlights other important tools we can use to improve the efficiency of our buildings, including continued use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs). An ESPC engages the private sector in an agency’s efforts to achieve energy efficiency improvements. The private sector provides the upfront capital to make energy efficiency upgrades in a facility, and is paid by the Federal agency from the guaranteed energy savings under the contract. Once the contract ends, the agency continues to benefit from the reduced energy costs. In December 2011, the President challenged Federal agencies to enter into a combined $2 billion worth of ESPCs by December 31, 2013. GSA exceeded its own target of $175 million with $191 million in contracts awarded. These contracts, which range from 12 to 23 years in duration, are projected to reduce GSA’s annual energy consumption by 365 billion Btus, or about the amount of energy used in 3,380 single family homes per year, resulting in direct savings (lower utility payments) of $10.6 million per year.

The President’s Climate Action Plan sets new goals on the Federal use of Renewable Energy, increasing the current goal from 7.5 percent to 20 percent by 2020. In FY 2013, 46.1 percent of electricity procured or generated by GSA came from renewable sources (nearly 1,200 GWh). Over 24 GWh of this renewable electricity was generated at our own facilities. GSA expects to generate nearly 29 GWh per year once on-site renewable projects currently underway are fully operational. This amount of on-site renewable energy is enough to power nearly 2,600 homes.

Through the use of Green Button data, the President’s Climate Action Plan also highlights the importance of collecting data to promote better energy management. Green Button is an industry-led effort, in response to the Administration’s call-to-action, that looks to meet the challenge of providing electricity consumers with secure, easy to understand information on their energy usage. As directed in the December 2013 Presidential Memorandum on Federal Leadership in Energy Management, GSA will partner with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency to prepare and initiate a pilot Green Button initiative at Federal facilities. Following the pilot, DOE, in coordination with EPA, is required to issue guidance on use of the Green Button standard at Federal facilities. GSA will leverage the Green Button standard within its federal facilities to increase the ability to manage energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meet sustainability goals.

Taken together, these efforts have led to a significant reduction in GSA’s energy use intensity and greenhouse gas emissions. In FY 2013, GSA achieved a cumulative reduction in energy usage per square foot of 24.8 percent,1 ahead of statutory targets. Since Fiscal Year 2011, these reductions have saved $192.7 million in avoided direct energy costs.2 Also, in FY 2013, GSA achieved an approximately 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, exceeding our FY 2020 target.3 That is the equivalent of more than 60,000 homes powered for one year.

Preparing for the Impacts of Climate Change –

GSA is also preparing for the potential impacts of climate change as part of the President’s Climate Action Plan. While it is impossible to predict the precise occurrence and costs of each and every climate risk, it is imperative to develop a robust risk management approach.

One such area of focus has been preparing for future floods. GSA is actively coordinating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Federal Interagency Floodplain Management Task Force to incorporate the most recent and relevant flood-risk reduction strategies into GSA’s operations. We are in the process of updating GSA’s internal floodplain management guidance and are taking into consideration updated FEMA floodplain maps and additional guidance on using climate projections.

GSA is also working to boost the resilience of buildings and infrastructure. We are in the process of prioritizing our most mission critical and vulnerable facilities, looking into cost-effective climate-resilient investments, and investigating solutions that reduce both climate change risks and greenhouse gas emissions. A pilot project is currently in place to incorporate climate risk reduction factors into a new land port of entry facility. GSA will take lessons learned from this pilot and share with other agencies.

We believe these efforts will ensure GSA, and the Federal government broadly, is more prepared to address the long-term consequences of climate change.

Conclusion –

The President’s Climate Action Plan represents a commitment to reduce and respond to the impacts of climate change. As a major landholding agency of the Federal government, GSA plays an important role in mitigating and preparing for these adverse effects. Through improved energy efficiency and risk planning, we hope to continue to make progress on both of these critical efforts.

I am pleased to be here today, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.

DOD ARTICLE ON RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Right:  Flooded areas of Boulder County, Colo. are seen from a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Sept. 18, 2013. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jecca Geffre.
  
FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
DOD Wraps Climate Change Response into Master Plans
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2013 – The effects of climate change are already evident at Defense Department installations in the United States and overseas, and DOD expects climate change to challenge its ability to fulfill its mission in the future, according to the first DOD Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap.
John Conger, the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment told American Forces Press Service the roadmap was completed in 2012 and published early this year.

The document “had us do a variety of things,” Conger said. “But the piece that I think is the crux of the report is, rather than creating a stovepipe within the DOD organizational structure to deal with climate change, [the document says] we are going to integrate climate change considerations into the normal processes, the day-to-day jobs of everybody.”

Such language is going to be integrated into various guidance documents, he added, “and we’ve already started doing that.”

The department’s action is part of a federal government effort to address the global challenge. In June, President Barack Obama launched a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, prepare communities for climate change impacts and lead similar international efforts.

Across the United States, local communities and cities are updating building codes, adjusting the way they manage natural resources, investing in more resilient infrastructure and planning for rapid recovery from damage that could occur due to climate change.

And on Nov. 1, the president issued an executive order on climate preparedness directing federal agencies to modernize programs to support climate-resilient investments, manage lands and waters for climate change preparedness and resilience, and plan for climate-change-related risk, among other things.
The order also forms an interagency council on climate preparedness and resilience, chaired by the White House and composed of more than 25 agencies, including the Defense Department.

The foundation for DOD’s strategic policy on climate change began with the defense secretary’s publication in 2010 of the Quadrennial Defense Review. The QDR, produced every four years, translates the National Defense Strategy into policies and initiatives.

In 2010, the QDR for the first time linked climate change and national security. It said climate change may affect DOD by shaping the department’s operating environments, roles and missions, have significant geopolitical impacts worldwide, and accelerate instability or conflict.

The QDR said DOD also would have to adjust to climate change impacts on its facilities, infrastructure, training and testing activities and military capabilities.
As the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, Conger also is the department’s senior climate official, and his first job is to manage the installations and environment portfolio.

“That includes over 500 bases and 300,000 buildings and 2.2 billion square feet of space,” he said. “The infrastructure has a plant replacement value on the order of $850 billion. There’s a lot of stuff out there that is all going to be impacted by changes in the climate.”

Conger said the department has to plan for the contingencies that climate change poses just as it would plan for any other contingency, driven by any other force in the world.

“As I look at managing the infrastructure, I have to think about risk as well in that context,” he said. “What is climate change likely to do? What are the major changes that will occur that will affect that $850 billion real property portfolio?”
The obvious threats are things like a rise in sea-levels, storm surges and storm intensity, but there’s also drought and thawing permafrost that affects bases in Alaska, the deputy undersecretary added.

“Similarly, on our installations we have over 400 endangered species,” he said. “We manage those species through documents called integrated natural resources management plans and we manage [them] not through some degree of altruism … but the fact is that if we don’t manage those species effectively and they do appear more threatened, then other regulatory agencies will put limits on what we can do on our property and that will impact training.”

Conger added, “We said, ‘Take climate into account. Make sure you have planned for this. Make sure you have thought about it and addressed it in your [installation management] plans.’”

“These are all, in my mind, sensible, reasonable steps that don’t cost very much money today and just require a little bit of forethought in order to reduce our exposure to risk tomorrow.”

The president’s June Climate Action Plan categorized recommendations for action in terms of mitigating or eliminating emissions that cause climate change, adapting to climate change, and working internationally on climate change, Conger said.
DOD has been looking at mitigation, or the energy problem, for a long time, the deputy undersecretary added.

Energy and climate are tied together, Conger said, because energy and emissions are tied together.

“We are working very hard and diligently to reduce our energy usage, to reduce our energy intensity and to increase the use of renewable energy, which doesn’t have emissions,” he said. “And we have done each of these things not because it is good for the climate or because it reduces emissions but because they provide mission and monetary benefits.”

Conger says the department’s $4 billion annual utility bill drives the search for energy-efficiency, renewable-energy development projects and more. All have benefits from a mission perspective first, he said, and also turn out to be good for the environment.