Shaheen & Portman Participate in Dartmouth’s “Investing in our Energy Futures” Conference & Highlight Bipartisan Energy Efficiency Efforts
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) participated in a virtual conversation held by Dartmouth College entitled “Advancing Bipartisan Energy Policy: A Conversation with Senators Portman and Shaheen.” They discussed their joint efforts in the Senate to advance energy efficiency, including the widely praised Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act, which contains key energy efficiency policy reforms that will create jobs, reduce emissions and save taxpayers money.
“Energy efficiency is a win-win for our economy and environment by creating good-paying jobs that prepare our workforce for the 21st century and reducing our carbon footprint. Senator Portman has been an incredible partner in the Senate on energy efficiency initiatives, and I enjoyed speaking with him at Dartmouth about our ongoing work,” said Shaheen. “This Congress, we have an opportunity to move the needle on climate change by meaningfully investing in our clean energy future. I’m committed to getting the remaining provisions of our energy efficiency bill across the finish line, and I’m eager to work with lawmakers across the aisle to ensure we deliver our energy needs with an eye toward sustainability.”
“Bipartisanship will be critical to our success in moving common-sense energy policies forward this Congress. I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation that will benefit all Americans,” said Portman. “I want to thank Dartmouth for hosting me and Senator Shaheen today and for the opportunity to highlight our work to increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses, in the industrial sector, and within the federal government. Our common-sense, bipartisan efficiency legislation would not only benefit the environment by reducing emissions by 1.3 billion metric tons, but would also add more than 100,000 jobs and reduce consumers’ energy costs by $51 billion.”
Policy experts at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that over the lifetime of the legislation through 2050, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act would save over $51 billion in energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.3 billion tons, which is the equivalent of taking nearly 280 million cars off the road for one year. It would also save 32 quadrillion Btu of energy, which is nearly the total energy use of all U.S. industries in one year. Analysis of prior versions of the bill also estimate it would also add more than 100,000 jobs to the economy.
Senator Shaheen is a leader in the Senate for safeguarding our environment, combating the effects of climate change and investing in energy efficiency policies. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen traveled to Paris to participate in high-level discussions at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference that led to the international Paris Climate Accord. Shaheen is a founding member of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, which brings together an equal number of Republicans and Democrats to craft and advance bipartisan solutions to address climate change. She also recently helped introduce new international climate change legislation in support of President Biden’s ambitious climate action agenda. The United States Climate Leadership in International Mitigation, Adaptation, and Technology Enhancement Act of 2021 (U.S. CLIMATE Act) lays out a bold vision to help restore American global leadership in combating the climate crisis through a new suite of climate foreign policy, finance and foreign assistance, and climate diplomacy programs and initiatives.
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