Obama, McCain on Energy and the Environment

Although much of the recent political conversation has been about the financial crisis, the 2008 presidential election could have a significant impact on other issues affecting building pros, such as building efficiency, renewable energy initiatives, and green jobs. And with energy and fuel prices surging around the world and awareness about climate change swelling, Democratic Senator Barack Obama's and Republican Senator John McCain's energy and environmental proposals could play an important role in voters' decisions on Election Day Nov. 4.

Despite the partisan bickering, the two candidates' policies are not diametrically opposed. "There really is a lot more alignment between the two platforms than folks may at first expect," says Jason Hartke, director of advocacy and public policy for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). "They both do a very good job of emphasizing energy efficiency in their platforms." While their tactics are different, the emphasis on efficiency is good because it's the greenest and most cost-efficient option available, he says.

"Green-collar jobs" has been a buzzword throughout the campaign, and Hartke notes that "creating new jobs is going to be part of the answer" to the economic recovery. Recent studies predict that investments in green initiatives could create millions of positions, he says. "Each candidate recognizes that there is an amazing opportunity to create new jobs, especially in the building sector." But any green jobs legislation should make training and workforce development funding available to building pros, not just workers affiliated with labor unions, says Elizabeth Odina, federal legislative director for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Meanwhile, both candidates are big proponents of climate change legislation, Odina says. Both support a "cap-and-trade" policy on carbon emissions, which sets a price for carbon, providing financial encouragement for utilities and other industries to look for greenhouse gas reductions, though Obama's policy is more aggressive in the timetable and the amount of reductions.

Overall, "Obama's [environment] plan is a little more specific," Hartke says. Its call to weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes each year, for example, is "a very important platform position," he says. "It hits on energy efficiency, but also a very important social equity issue." Obama also is more aggressive on renewable energy portfolio standards (see Renewable Energy, below).

Because the candidates have been campaigning for so many months, neither has been in Washington for many Senate votes on the environment. Nevertheless, Obama voted to approve the "CLEAN Energy Act of 2007," which raises fuel-efficiency standards, establishes energy-efficiency standards for appliances and federal buildings, and promotes renewable fuels. McCain did not vote.

The League of Conservation Voters, an advocacy organization that reviews politicians' environmental records and that has endorsed Obama, gives Obama an 86% lifetime score on his legislative record and a 67% score in 2007, saying he made 10 pro-environment votes, one anti-environment vote, and was absent for four environmental votes last year. The organization gives McCain a 24% lifetime score and a 0 score in 2007, saying he was absent for all environmental bill votes.

Below is a list of green initiatives proposed by each candidate, in his own words. McCain's and Obama's campaigns did not respond to requests from EcoHome for details on how the initiatives would be implemented or paid for. All quotes are taken from the candidates' Web sites.

BUILDING EFFICIENCY

Obama:
* Weatherize 1 million homes annually. "Obama will make a national commitment to weatherize at least one million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all."
* Set building efficiency goals. "Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. He'll also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal."
* Establish a grant program for early adopters. "Obama will create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency, and provide a federal match for those states with leading-edge public benefits funds that support energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings."
* Expand federal efficiency grants. "Obama will also expand federal grant programs to help states and localities build more efficient public buildings, including libraries, schools, and police stations that adopt aggressive green building provisions like those provided by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the U.S. Green Buildings Council."

McCain:
* Green the federal government. "The federal government is the largest electricity consumer on earth and occupies 3.3 billion square feet of space worldwide. It provides an enormous opportunity to lead by example. By applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased or retrofitting existing buildings, we can save taxpayers substantial money in energy costs, and move the construction market in the direction of green technology."

UTILITIES AND ELECTRIC GRID

Obama:
* Flip incentives to energy utilities. "An Obama administration will 'flip' incentives to utility companies by requiring states to conduct proceedings to implement incentive changes and offering them targeted technical assistance. These measures will benefit utilities for improving energy efficiency, rather than just from supporting higher energy consumption. This 'regulatory equity' starts with the decoupling of profits from increased energy usage, which will incentivize utilities to partner with consumers and the federal and state governments to reduce monthly energy bills for families and businesses."

McCain:
* Improve grid and deploy smart meters. "John McCain will work to reduce red tape to allow a serious investment to upgrade our national grid to meet the demands of the 21st century--which will include a capacity to charge the electric cars that will one day fill the roads and highways of America. And to save both money and electrical power for our people and businesses, we will also need to deploy SmartMeter technologies. These new meters give customers a more precise picture of their overall energy consumption, and over time will encourage a more cost-efficient use of power."

APPLIANCE/PRODUCT EFFICIENCY

Obama:
* Overhaul federal efficiency standards. "The current Department of Energy has missed 34 deadlines for setting updated appliance efficiency standards, which has cost American consumers millions of dollars in unrealized energy savings. Obama will overhaul this process for appliances and provide more resources to his Department of Energy so it implements regular updates for efficiency standards. He will also work with Congress to ensure that it continues to play a key role in improving our national efficiency codes."
* Phase out incandescents. "Barack Obama supports the effort led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) to update federal lighting efficiency standards to ensure that new lighting technologies are phased into the marketplace. As president, Obama will implement legislation that phases out traditional incandescent light bulbs by 2014."

McCain:
* Not addressed on McCain's Web site.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Obama:
* Increase share of government electricity from renewable sources. "As president, Obama will ensure that at least 30 percent of the federal government's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020."
* Require 25% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025. "Barack Obama will establish a 25 percent federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) to require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind, and geothermal by 2025."

McCain:
* Encourage alternative fuels. "According to the Department of Energy, wind could provide as much as one-fifth of electricity by 2030. The U.S. solar energy industry continued its double-digit annual growth rate in 2006. To develop these and other sources of renewable energy will require that we rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility. John McCain believes in an even-handed system of tax credits that will remain in place until the market transforms sufficiently to the point where renewable energy no longer merits the taxpayers' dollars."

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Obama:
* Build neighborhoods around alternative transportation. "Barack Obama believes that we must devote substantial resources to repairing our roads and bridges. He also believes that we must devote significantly more attention to investments that will make it easier for us to walk, bicycle, and access other transportation alternatives. Obama is committed to reforming the federal transportation funding and leveling employer incentives for driving and public transit."

McCain:
* The Wall Street Journalreported in August that "Sen. McCain hasn't released a formal policy identified as targeting urban issues."

CARBON EMISSIONS

Obama:



* Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. "Obama's cap-and-trade policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future, habitat protections, and rebates and other transition relief for families."

McCain:
* Implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 60% below 1990 levels (66% below 2005 levels) by 2050. "The cap-and-trade system would encompass electric power, transportation fuels, commercial business, and industrial business - sectors responsible for just below 90 percent of all emissions. Small businesses would be exempt. Initially, participants would be allowed to either make their own GHG reductions or purchase "offsets" - financial instruments representing a reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions practiced by other activities, such as agriculture - to cover 100 percent of their required reductions. Offsets would only be available through a program dedicated to ensure that all offset GHG emission reductions are real, measured, and verifiable. The fraction of GHG emission reductions permitted via offsets would decline over time."
* Auction permits to support development of advanced technology. "A portion of the process of these auctions will be used to support a diversified portfolio of research and commercialization challenges, ranging from carbon capture and sequestration, to nuclear power, to battery development. Funds will also be used to provide financial backing for a Green Innovation Financing and Transfer (GIFT) to facilitate commercialization."

GREEN JOBS

Obama:
* Invest in clean energy. "The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will help create 5 million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next 10 years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future."

McCain:
* Develop and deploy green technologies. "Green jobs and green technology will be vital to our economic future. There is no reason that the U.S. should not be a leader in developing and deploying these new technologies."