The Office of Policy and International Affairs (PI) serves as the focal point within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the development, coordination, and implementation of DOE-related aspects of climate change technical programs, policies, and initiatives.  The Office of Climate Change Policy and Technology, located within PI, provides supporting policy, planning, technical and analytical services to carry out this function.  To the extent delegated by the Secretary, the Office provides similar services to other Federal agencies and to Cabinet and sub-Cabinet-level interagency policy committees that work on climate change-related policy, science, technology, and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation programs.

The U.S. Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP) is a multi-agency planning and coordinating entity, led by DOE, whose purpose is to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies that can reduce, avoid, or capture and store greenhouse gas emissions.  CCTP conducts analysis, provides strategic direction, and makes recommendations to strengthen the Federal portfolio of investments in related research and development (R&D) across more than a dozen participating agencies.  It helps to inform policy options that address barriers to greater technology diffusion and adoption in the marketplace and works with international entities to promote R&D cooperation and collaboration with other country governments.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) invests in clean energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.  The work of EERE is organized across ten Energy Programs, each of which is dedicated to reducing the impacts of climate change, and with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, EERE received $16.8 billion to support clean energy programs and help put America on the path to a clean energy future.

The Office of Fossil Energy is pursuing multiple major strategies to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to global climate change concerns, including making fossil energy systems more efficient, and capturing and storing greenhouse gases. To retain coal and other fossil fuels as viable energy sources in a carbon-constrained world, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are expected to play a pivotal role. On a global scale, CCS technologies have the potential to reduce overall climate change mitigation costs and increase flexibility in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. DOE, through its Office of Fossil Energy, is implementing several large-scale CCS programs such as the Regional Partnerships' geologic storage field tests, the FutureGen project, and the Clean Coal Power Initiative demonstration projects to establish the early generation technology base to move CCS from concept to reality.

The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is leading numerous efforts to develop a Smart Grid and modernize the country's transmission and distribution system.  An updated electrical system will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the electricity sector implement carbon management strategies by improving the energy efficiency of the electrical system infrastructure and reducing power delivery losses.  The Smart Grid and modernized electricity system will also enable greater integration of renewable energy and other clean power systems, along with bringing energy efficient buildings, Smart Grid technologies, industrial equipment, and low-carbon transportation alternatives such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles onto the electrical grid.  OE's efforts to develop advanced transmission and distribution technologies and promote more effective regional planning are intended to make it easier and more cost-effective to install and operate renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, and integrate them into the electric grid in a reliable and safe manner.

As a low carbon energy source, nuclear energy has significantly reduced U.S. and global emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, and other pollutants by substituting for fossil fuels in electricity production. The current fleet of 104 U.S. reactors avoids the emissions of almost 700 million metric tons of CO2 a year when compared to fossil plants, while generating about 20% of the nation's electricity. The Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) is working to extend the useful lifetimes of these plants in order to continue these benefits. This effort is the goal of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program. NE is also working to enable the construction of new nuclear plants in order to extend climate change and other benefits. This is the focus of the Nuclear Power NP2010 Program. Current nuclear technology can be improved to produce greater benefits in the future. NE's Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Program is working on the next generation of nuclear reactors which in addition to generating electricity, have great potential in helping to reduce emissions in the transportation and industrial sectors as well. The growth of nuclear energy with its climate-changing benefits can be accelerated by developing widely acceptable solutions to nuclear waste issues, and by developing new technologies to re-use nuclear fuel.  NE's Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program conducts research in these important areas.

Through DOE's Climate and Environmental Sciences Division, the Office of Science approaches the problems associated with climate change through research and modeling efforts to:(1) improve the understanding of factors affecting the Earth's radiant-energy balance; (2) predict accurately any global and regional climate change induced by increasing atmospheric concentrations of aerosols and greenhouse gases; (3) quantify sources and sinks of energy-related greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide; and (4) improve the scientific basis for assessing both the potential consequences of climatic changes.

The "Climate VISION" (Voluntary Innovative Sector Initiatives: Opportunities Now) program is a voluntary public-private partnership designed to pursue cost-effective strategies to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. The Climate VISION program links these objectives with technology development, commercialization, and commercial implementation activities supported by the private sector and the government.

For data related to climate change, you can also visit the Energy Information Administration.