Widespread use of natural-gas turbines, biofuels, and energy-saving appliances can help the United States reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, an Energy Department report suggests.
In a yearlong study released Thursday and conducted by five national laboratories, the agency concluded that all is not lost when it comes to global warming.
"Technology can and must play an important role in addressing climate change," Energy Secretary Federico Peña said in a statement.
The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles, a joint project involving the government, General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford that aims to make cars three times more fuel efficient is one initiative the report says could help slash emissions in the US. The report also points to the development of more energy-efficient refrigerators and light bulbs as ways to save energy.
The department said taking such steps could save US$70 billion to $90 billion a year. The deployment effort would cost between $51 billion and $88 billion. However, many of the technologies touted in the report are only now in development.
The European Union has said it is committed to reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, and European governments plan to back up those statements at December's 160-nation Kyoto conference on global warming. The White House has not set its strategy for the conference.
One component of the likely US stance was illustrated today, though, by the announcement that the US Agency for International Development will launch a program to help India reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in its urban areas. The Clinton administration has pledged $1 billion over the next five years to help developing countries deal with emissions - a commitment criticized abroad as far too little from the world's richest nation and biggest energy consumer.
