Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: January 28, 2009

President Barack Obama issued a pair of memoranda on Monday to address the fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions of our nation's automobiles.

The president directed the Secretary of Transportation to publish higher fuel economy standards for model year 2011 cars and light trucks by the end of March and to reevaluate the proposed standards for future model years. Automakers will generally begin selling model year 2011 vehicles in the fall of 2010.

President Obama also directed the U.S. EPA to revisit the California waiver request that would allow that state to implement its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rules for vehicles. The federal Clean Air Act only allows California to set emission standards that deviate from federal rules, and any California standards require a waiver from the EPA. But once California enacts its own standards, the act allows other states to adopt the rules set in California. So even though the waiver request applies specifically to California, more than a dozen other states intend to implement the California GHG rules for vehicles if the waiver is granted.

"It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil, while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs," said President Obama. "We hold no illusion about the task that lies ahead. I cannot promise a quick fix; no single technology or set of regulations will get the job done. But we will commit ourselves to steady, focused, pragmatic pursuit of an America that is free from our energy dependence and empowered by a new energy economy that puts millions of our citizens to work."

Regarding the new memoranda, President Obama noted that "our goal is not to further burden an already struggling industry," but rather "to help America's automakers prepare for the future."

The President also touted the promise of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that's now working its way through Congress. He said the plan will double the U.S. capacity to generate renewable energy over the next three years and "will lay down 3,000 miles of transmission lines to deliver this energy to every corner of our country." The plan will also invest in energy efficiency, making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient while weatherizing the homes of two million families. See the president's announcement and the memoranda on fuel economy standards and California GHG regulations on the White House Web site.

75 Nations Join New International Renewable Energy Agency

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was founded on Monday in Bonn, Germany, and 75 nations have already signed a compact to join.

IRENA is an intergovernmental organization for renewable energy - it aims to become a driving force in the promotion of a rapid transition towards the widespread global use of renewable energy. While there is already a World Council on Renewable Energy (WCRE) to promote renewable energy policies, IRENA is a political institution that is intended to act as a counterbalance to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency, which represents only 28 industrialized, democratic nations (that is, most members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

The 75 founding nations of IRENA include Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, all of which are IEA members, as well as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Chile, and Colombia, among others. IRENA was proposed in 1990 by Herman Scheer, president of the European Association for Renewable Energies and chair of the WCRE. See the WCRE press release and the IRENA Web site.