Global Climate Change Initiative

On February 14, 2002, President Bush committed America to an aggressive strategy to cut greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent over the next 10 years. The initiative also supports vital climate change research and ensures that America's workers are not unfairly penalized. The President's initiative puts America on a path to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, and -- as the science justifies -- to stop, and then reverse that growth.

Cutting Greenhouse Gas Intensity by 18 Percent Over the Next 10 Years. Greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output. The President's goal seeks to lower the U.S. rate of emissions from an estimated 183 metric tons per million dollars of GDP in 2002, to 151 metric tons per million dollars of GDP in 2012. By significantly slowing the growth of greenhouse gases, this policy will put America on a path toward stabilizing GHG concentration in the atmosphere in the long run, while sustaining the economic growth needed to finance our investments in a new, cleaner energy structure. America is already improving its GHG intensity; new policies and programs will accelerate that progress, avoiding more than 500 million metric tons of GHG emissions over the next ten years -- the equivalent of taking nearly one out of every three cars off the road. This goal is comparable to the average progress that nations participating in the Kyoto Protocol are required to achieve.

A New Tool to Measure and Credit Emissions Reductions. The United States will improve its GHG registry to enhance measurement accuracy, reliability and verifiability, working with and taking into account emerging domestic and international approaches. These improvements will give businesses incentives to invest in new, cleaner technology and voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Protect and Provide Transferable Credit for Emission Reductions. The President directed the Secretary of Energy to recommend reforms to: (1) ensure that businesses that register voluntary reductions are not penalized under a future climate policy, and (2) give credit to companies that can show real emissions reductions.

Reviewing Progress on Climate Change and Taking Additional Action if Necessary in 2012, which may include a broad, market-based program, as well as additional initiatives to accelerate technology. If, in 2012, we are not on track toward meeting our goal, and sound science justifies further policy action, the United States will respond with additional measures that may include a broad, market-based program as well as additional incentives and voluntary measures designed to accelerate technology development and deployment.

Unprecedented Funding for Climate Change-Related Programs: The President's budget in FY 2003 provides $4.5 billion for global climate change-related activities -- a $653 million increase over FY 2002. This includes the first year of funding for a five-year, $4.6 billion commitment to tax credits for renewable energy sources.

A Comprehensive Range of New and Expanded Domestic and International Policies, including:

• Expanded research and development of climate-related science and technology
• Expanded use of renewable energy
• Business sector challenges
• Improvements in the transportation sector
• Incentives for sequestration
• Enhanced support for climate observation and mitigation in the developing world.
• The President's growth-based approach will accelerate the development of new technologies and encourage partnerships on climate change issues with the developing world.