THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
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For Immediate Release
January 18, 2001
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
I am pleased that the Department of Energy is today establishing four
new energy efficiency standards for appliances that will save consumers and
businesses more than $19 billion over the next 30 years. These standards
once again demonstrate that environmental protection and economic growth go
hand in hand. By reducing electricity use, the standards will not only
make our electricity system more reliable, but also will reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and other harmful air pollutants. I applaud the leadership
and hard work of Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and his staff for
bringing these consumer savings and environmental benefits to the American
public.
These new standards ? for clothes washers, water heaters, residential
heat pumps and central air conditioners, and commercial heating and cooling
equipment ? are a critical part of our broader effort to address the
greatest environmental challenge of the 21st century: global warming. The
world?s leading scientists have established that our climate is changing,
that the rate of change is increasing, that human activities are a
significant factor in climate change, and that climate change is likely to
have many negative impacts on our environment and society.
As part of our effort to combat global warming, this Administration
has launched more than 50 major initiatives to improve energy efficiency
and develop clean energy sources. Along with the new standards announced
today, higher energy efficiency standards for appliances established by
this Administration will save consumers more than $10 billion, and avoid
carbon dioxide emissions of more than 225 million metric tons, by 2010. We
also made the Federal government more efficient ? in 1999 alone, we reduced
our annual energy bill by $800 million. By 2010, these federal energy
savings will reduce annual emissions by an amount equal to taking 1.7
million cars off the road.
I am proud of the progress we have made, and am confident that it will
serve as a foundation upon which our nation can continue to meet the
profound challenge of climate change.
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