Greening the Capitol Final Report
"Global warming and climate change are formidable issues that the entire world is confronting, and the United States Congress must lead by example. This plan is an essential first step, because it not only will make the House a better place to work and live near, but it will also make our institution a model -- one that cares about what kind of planet our children will inherit."
- Speaker Pelosi, 6/21/07
Four months ago, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer, directed the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to conduct an intense energy audit of the Capitol complex, comprising of six federal office buildings spanning more than 6.2 million square feet, so as to develop an initiative to address energy conservation, efficiency and cost savings for the U.S. Capitol and congressional office buildings with the goal of making half of the Capitol complex "carbon neutral" in 18 months.
Today, Speaker Pelosi, Congressional leaders, and the CAO announced the completion of the final "Green the Capitol" report, which confirms the Speaker's initial plan to immediately begin reducing the levels of carbon dioxide emitted by House operations and buildings and details how the institution will dramatically reduce its overall energy consumption. The final report provides a roadmap to cutting the House's energy use over the next ten years in half - more than twice what the 2005 Energy Policy Act requires of federal buildings.
Two new elements of the final, revised plan also call for the House to purchase carbon offsets, allowing for the investment in carbon dioxide reduction projects elsewhere in the United States, and for day-to-day operations and business practices to not have a negative impact on the environment by using non-toxic cleaning products, increasing water conservation and significantly improving recycling.
The dramatic reduction in the House's reliance on electricity will come from:
The widespread installation of energy efficient lightingThe redesign and centralization of computer systems and other electronic office equipment
The upgrading of all heating and cooling mechanisms to maximize efficiency and meet "green" standards
The evaluation and improvement of miscellaneous House operations and processes to maximize energy efficiencies
The Green the Capitol Initiative proposes meeting the Speaker's 2008 deadline for carbon neutrality by implementing three key strategies:
First, since electricity use is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from House operations, the Speaker has directed that all purchased electricity must come from renewable energy sources (such as solar or wind power.) Buying from these clean sources immediately eliminates 57,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually (equivalent to instantly and permanently removing 11,000 cars from the road).The second effort designed to achieve carbon-neutrality calls for the House of Representatives to stop burning coal at the Capitol Power Plant. This action will reduce the emissions from the plant by 30 percent. The cost associated with switching to cleaner natural gas has already been placed in the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill that the House will vote on this week.
The third pillar of the carbon-neutrality strategy, the buying of the carbon offsets, balances out the remaining 24,000 tons of carbon emissions still being released into the atmosphere by House operations. Offsets are credits that are purchased (in this case from the Chicago Climate Exchange) to offset carbon emissions through investment in other U.S.-based environmentally-friendly projects.
Read the executive summary by the CAO (.pdf)>>