President Barack Obama [2] on Jan. 29 ordered the federal government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 28% by 2020. The reduction is pursuant to Executive Order 13514, signed by Obama in October. The order provides that "Federal agencies shall increase energy efficiency; measure, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect activities; conserve and protect water resources through efficiency, reuse, and stormwater management; eliminate waste, recycle, and prevent pollution." The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ [3]) will be responsible for implementing the initiatives outlined in the order at the agency and departmental levels.
Obama's announcement comes a month after the UN Climate Change Conference [4] in Copenhagen. Although the conference failed to produce any legally binding resolution [5], 192 countries, including the US, agreed to "take note" of the non-binding Cophenhagen Accord. (Jurist [6], Jan. 29)
See our last post on the climate crisis [7]
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