Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: July 15, 2009
G8 and Major Economy Leaders Agree to Slash Greenhouse Emissions DOE, Treasury Provide Guidance on Direct Payments for Renewable Projects DOE: $300M for State Rebates on Energy Star Appliances DOE: $448M for Weatherization Programs in 13 States DOE: $141M for Clean Energy in Five States, One Territory Renewable Energy Standards Advance in Four States Economic Downturn Cuts U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Drilling by Half G8 and Major Economy Leaders Agree to Slash Greenhouse Emissions The leaders of the world’s countries with the largest economies, including the US and the European Union, have agreed to slash global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, with the intent to hold global warming at less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At last week’s meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US, the nations’ leaders agreed that developed countries should reduce their aggregate GHG emissions to at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, while the world as a whole should cut its GHG emissions in half. The G8 leaders acknowledged the 2°C limit and recognized that global GHG emissions "need to peak as soon as possible and […]