27 April 2009
EPA Officials Discuss Energy Efficiency in the United States
CO.NX webchat transcript, April 27
Courtney Upshall and Maria Vargas of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) answered questions in an April 27 CO.NX webchat on energy efficiency.
Following is the transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
Webchat Transcript
CO.NX Webchat: Is the U.S. Energy-Efficient?
Guest: Courtney Upshall and Maria Vargas
Date: April 27, 2009
Time: 8:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT)
CO.NX Moderator (Tim): We would like to welcome Courtney Upshall and Maria Vargas who are part of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are responsible for overseeing energy-efficiency programs in the United States, including Energy Star.
Energy Star was recently featured in April's e-Journal entitled Energy Efficiency: The First Fuel and it's available at http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/0409.html.
Question [Mohammad]: Do you coordinate with any other countries on EPA or Energy Star?
Answer [Maria Vargas]: Yes-- we do coordinate with other countries on ENERGY STAR. We have letters of agreement signed with Canada, the EU, Japan, Taiwan and Australia to name a few. Through these agreements, countries work with the US to offer a consistent ENERGY STAR program. So that the ENERGY STAR labels mean the same thing to consumers around the world
Q: [Mohammad]: How long have you worked at the EPA? What do you do for Energy Star?
A [Maria Vargas]: I have worked at EPA since 1986. I am the brand manager for the ENERGY STAR program. I help oversee all the activities of the program and that everything we are doing is consistent with the goals of the program.
Q: [Will]: How long has the program been running?
A [Courtney Upshall]: EPA started the ENERGY STAR program in 1992.
Q: [Gupta]: Is the EPA working on other projects like this? Is the Energy Department working on other conservation projects?
A [Maria Vargas]: EPA's Climate Protection Partnerships Division has several programs designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through partnerships. One of these is ENERGY STAR. Another is EPA's Green Power Partnership-- where organizations partner with EPA and agree to buy a percentage of their power from renewable energy sources. We also have a Climate Leaders program-- where companies voluntarily agree to inventory their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce them.
Q: [Sheila]: How many people at EPA work on the Energy Star program?
A [Maria Vargas]: About 50 people work at EPA on the ENERGY STAR program.
Q: [Sammy:] What is cost of the ENERGY STAR program?
A [Courtney Upshall]: For every federal dollar spent on the ENERGY STAR program, a number of benefits are realized, including: reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 1.0 metric ton of carbon equivalent; savings for partners and consumers of more than $75 on energy bills; private sector investment of more than $15; and a net savings of more than $60.
Q: [comples]: In such economically unstable times, how are we able to support or start new energy efficient programs?
A [Maria Vargas]: As you can see from the numbers above (in Courtney’s answer) -- these programs make financial and environmental sense.
Q: [Akmar]: What is the biggest advantage for the US to have this program?
A [Maria Vargas]: Through the ENERGY STAR program, EPA has been able to demonstrate the power of partnerships and market-based solutions to effect a change in consumers’ purchasing preferences. Last year alone, with the help of ENERGY STAR, Americans saved $19 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 29 million vehicles.
Q: [Will]: Do you have more programs like energy star that help with efficiency?
A [Maria Vargas]: EPA has several programs that promote greater efficiency. There is a report that highlights each of these programs and their goals and accomplishments at http://epa.gov/cppd. Many of these programs are aimed at greater energy efficiency (like ENERGY STAR-- which helps provide greater efficiency across all sectors of the economy), and other programs focus on different market segments or barriers.
Q: [Sheila]: How do you measure how much energy is being saved each year? Is there a current total?
A [Courtney Upshall]: The ENERGY STAR program is quite diverse, ranging from energy-efficient products, homes, commercial buildings, and industry. EPA has developed peer-reviewed measurement methodologies for each aspect of the ENERGY STAR program. A comprehensive description of these methods can be found on pages 56-59 of the "ENERGY STAR and Other Climate Protection Partnerships 2007 Annual Report" at: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/publications/pubdocs/2007%20Annual%20Report%20-%20Final%20-11-10-08.pdf.
We have begun the analysis for the program's 2008 Annual Report and have published them in the "ENERGY STAR Overview of 2008 Achievements" at http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/publications/pubdocs/2008%204%20pager%203-12-09.pdf.
This document shows that in 2008 alone, Americans have saved more than 43 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, saving more than $19 billion annually on their utility bills.
Q: [Dirkson]: What is the EPA doing for wind and solar power? Are there more alternatives that you are looking at?
A [Maria Vargas]: Through EPA's Green Power partnership, EPA promotes the purchase of renewable energy from a variety of sources. Over 1,000 organizations have committed to purchasing green power. EPA will be releasing a list of the top 50 US corporate purchasers today. For more information and to see the list you can go to: http://epa.gov/greenpower.
Q: [Dirkson]: Can you elaborate on the Climate Leaders program? Has it been effective?
A [Courtney Upshall]: Climate Leaders is an EPA industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Partner companies commit to reducing their impact on the global environment by completing a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions based on a quality management system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA. EPA currently has more than 260 partners in the Climate Leaders program. Partners are from every major sector and come from all 50 states. This road-tested program uses a successful three-component strategy: corporate-wide GHG inventory; inventory management plan; and aggressive, corporate-wide GHG reduction goals. EPA provides technical assistance to its Climate Leader partners to help them reach their goals.
A [Maria Vargas]: By way of closing remarks -- EPA is very proud of the results that the ENERGY STAR program has achieved. Most American homes and businesses can save 30 percent on their energy bills through greater energy efficiency. This greater efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which is the goal of the program. We will continue to raise the specifications for ENERGY STAR products, homes and buildings to achieve greater savings; and we will continue to work with our partners to double our savings in the next 10 years.
CO.NX Moderator (Tim): For more upcoming energy and environment chat please visit our Facebook community at http://co-nx.state.gov.
For more information on these programs please visit the Energy Star website http://www.energystar.gov/ and the EPA's homepage http://www.epa.gov/.
CO.NX Moderator (Sarah): Thank you all for joining us today.
CO.NX Moderator (Tim): We would like to thank Courtney and Maria for their time and answers today.
CO.NX Moderator (Sarah): The Webchat is now closed. We wish to thank Maria Vargas and Courtney Upshall for joining us today. A transcript of today's webchat will be posted to http://co-nx.state.gov and to http://www.america.gov/multimedia/askamerica.html within two business days.
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