US President Barack Obama today announced that the Federal government would reduce its greenhouse gas pollution by 28 per cent by 2020.
The reduction will spur clean energy investments that create new private-sector jobs, drive long-term savings, build local market capacity, and foster innovation and entrepreneurship in clean energy industries, the White House said after Obama signed an executive order in this regard.
"As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to American citizens to reduce our energy use and become more efficient," Obama said.
"Our goal is to lower costs, reduce pollution, and shift Federal energy expenses away from oil and towards local, clean energy."
As the single largest energy consumer in the US economy, the Federal government spent more than $24.5 billion on electricity and fuel in 2008 alone.
Achieving the Federal GHG pollution reduction target will reduce Federal energy use by equivalent of 646 trillion BTUs, equal to 205 million barrels of oil, and taking 17 million cars off the road for one year.
This is also equivalent to a cumulative total of $8-11 billion in avoided energy costs through 2020, the White House said.
