Federal government
From ClimateWiki
The Federal government, led by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has introduced both voluntary and incentive-based programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Additionally, there are programs that seek to advance U.S. technology to better determine the rate and effects of climate change. This section will identify and describe the various initiatives currently in effect.
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Agencies
EPA - The EPA, or the Environmental Protection Agency, is a federal agency devoted to protecting the environment and, in correlation, human health. In order to do so, it develops and enforces regulations, distribute grants, research environmental issues, create partnerships, educate the public, and create various publications. In addition, they have created the following programs and initiatives:
Clean Energy Programs: EPA collaborates with working state policy makers, electric and gas utilities, energy customers, etc to create and implement clean energy policy and technology.
Climate Change and Waste Programs: Programs that encourage and implement solid waste reduction and recycling initiatives. The EPA claims these two factors alone can make a drastic impact on climate change.
Climate Leaders: Like the Clean Energy Programs, Climate Leaders is a collaboration between the EPA and various United States companies. By committing to the program, companies generate an annual report for the EPA outlining their greenhouse gas emissions. The annual report is to outline the companies’ efforts to reduce their emissions.
High Global Warming Potential Gas Reduction Programs: A series of voluntary partnership programs between the EPA and companies to attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Integrated Environmental Strategies: Program created in 1998 to encourage integrated planning in developing countries in hopes that it will aid public health as well as produce economic and environmental benefits.
Methane Programs: companies voluntarily work with the EPA to reduce methane emissions by implementing cost-effective management methods and technologies. Methane is released from various U.S. entities such as landfills, natural gas and petroleum systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes. The EPA looks to better utilize methane as it is also a primary source of natural gas.
Transportation Voluntary Programs: These programs are a series of partnerships that work toward bettering the environment, especially air quality, without having to initiate governmental regulation.
ENERGY STAR: A joint-program ran by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR aims to help citizens reduce their energy costs while also aiding the environment. Focusing on both household and business use, ENERGY STAR suggests products as well as practices that will lower costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Other Federal Programs & Initiatives
Current and Near-Term Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiatives: Public-private partnerships that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These partnerships focus on four distinct areas: energy efficiency, renewable energy, methane and other non-carbon dioxide (non-CO2) gases, and agricultural practices and the implementation of technologies to achieve greenhouse gas reductions.
Climate Change Technology Program: Focus on advancing scientific technology that will supposedly drastically lower greenhouse gas emissions. The program has its own various agencies and efforts that aim to create and engage new technologies. These include, but are not limited to, taking inventory of greenhouse gas reducing technology, creating strategies to promote commercialization and deployment of reducing technologies, and holding workshops to assess economic impacts of greenhouse gas mitigation.
U.S. Global Change Research Program: Beginning in 1989, the USGCRP organizes and initiates federal research in the global environment. The program was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990, which called for "a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change." USGCRP has 13 departments and agencies and is overseen by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the supervision of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, which overseen by the Executive Office of the President, and facilitated by an Integration and Coordination Office.
International Cooperation: Actively engaged in by the EPA, the federal government aims to maintain international cooperation in environmental efforts. Therefore, the federal government heavily participates in climate change activities in areas such as science, mitigation and environmental monitoring. The EPA specifically looks to establish global-partnerships. So far, the United States is in collaboration with Australia, China, India, Japan and South Korea to promote a clean global environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through new, energy efficient technologies.
References
"Our Mission and What We Do | About EPA | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/whatwedo.html>.
"Basic Information | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html>.
"Waste Home | Climate Change - What You Can Do | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/index.html>.
Leaders, Joining Climate. "Climate Leaders | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders/>.
"Clean Energy | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/>.
"Voluntary Programs | High GWP Gases | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/highgwp1/voluntary.html>.
"Integrated Environmental Strategies | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/ies/>.
"Methane | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/methane/>.
"About ENERGY STAR : ENERGY STAR." Home : ENERGY STAR. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=about.ab_index>.
Home: U.S. Climate Change Technology Program. Web. 12 Mar. 2011. <http://www.climatetechnology.gov/>.
