CONTACT:
Leslie Patterson
646-200-5326
New York, NY – Statement from Jason Bordoff, Director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and former Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Energy and Climate Change at the National Security Council:
“With this landmark plan that will reduce harmful carbon emissions, President Obama has once again shown his strong commitment to meeting our moral obligation to future generations by addressing climate change and ensuring the U.S. meets the goal of reducing emissions 17% by 2020. The Clean Air Act is one of the most important tools the administration has at its disposal, and it’s a move in the right direction for the President to use it to curb emissions from new and existing power plants, along with measures to increase energy efficiency, increase renewable energy deployment, and increase investments in clean energy technologies.
“We also support the President’s proposals for investing in our energy infrastructure – measures which will go a long way toward making our cities more resilient in the face of extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy. The Center is proud to be working with Mayor Bloomberg on solutions for addressing potential future energy shortages in New York City and we look forward to sharing the knowledge from that collaboration with the administration and other cities across the country.
“While the President has announced a series of important actions today, that does not change the need for Congress to act. Congressional legislation that puts a price on carbon is needed to let markets decide how to most cheaply reduce emissions in the longer term, provide incentives for innovation, and put the U.S. on a path to reduce harmful pollution. The President’s plan moves us closer to where we need to be but there is much work left to be done, and the Center looks forward to contributing to the debate on these and other issues in the months and years ahead.”
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About the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University: The Center on Global Energy Policy provides independent, balanced, data-driven analysis to help policymakers navigate the complex world of energy. We approach energy as a economic, security, geopolitical, and environmental concern. And we draw on the resources of a world-class institution, faculty with real-world experience, and a location in the world´s finance and media capital.
About the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA): SIPA’s mission is to empower people to serve the global public interest. Our goal is to foster economic growth, sustainable development, social progress, and democratic governance by educating public policy professionals, producing policy-related research, and conveying the results to the world. Based in New York City, with a student body that is 50 percent international and educational partners in cities around the world, SIPA is the most global of public policy schools. For more information, please visit http://sipa.columbia.edu.