By Debra DeHaney-Howard
January 31, 2011

Energy Standing Committee Chair Santa Ana (CA) Mayor Miguel Pulido led mayoral discussions on a full agenda of the Energy Policy Standing Committee at a January 19 session held during the 79th Winter Meeting.

Committee members focused primarily on the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program, including the Conference of Mayors goal of sustained annual funding for this initiative, which was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Pulido reported that cities throughout the U.S. are implementing a wide range of projects, including state-of-the-art lighting systems, building retrofits, and the development of renewable energy supplies, including photovoltaic systems and electricity produced from landfill gases. Committee members provided several examples of successes in the use of their energy efficiency block grant funds, citing financial and energy savings already realized in their cities.

In addition to these mayoral discussions, panel members also heard from Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA), White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley, and Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Task Force Co-Chairs Carmel (IN) Mayor James Brainard and Bridgeport (CT) Mayor Bill Finch.

Pulido also praised Colorado Springs (CO) Mayor Lionel Rivera for his years of service as the Committee's Vice Chair. In his remarks, Rivera thanked his colleagues for the opportunity to serve them and for engaging him on the broad energy challenges before the nation.

"I want to help and support you in every way," Chu told the panel members. He directed his remarks to the need for the U.S. to bolster the development of high-quality manufacturing jobs, especially in the energy and technology sectors.

Acknowledging the mayors for their work on the energy block grant, he praised the many innovative energy programs it has supported. He urged the mayors to continue collecting "hard data, not soft data" on the number of jobs created and the money it saved, stating, "This data can support the mayors' call for additional funding for the energy block grant program."

"There's going to be hard times ahead, but having said that, we want data that the programs are working," Chu said. "The ones that work best, that really help Americans save money by saving energy, are things that, going into the future, whether it's federal, state or local, you'll have greater confidence in."

In closing his remarks, Chu recognized Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter for accepting a position on a key Energy Department Advisory Committee where he will "ensure that locals have a voice."

Briefing the mayors on a number of issues before her agency, Sutley talked about the Vice President Biden's Middle Class Task Force and its emphasis on home energy retrofits, an initiative aimed at reducing homeowner energy costs while also creating jobs. She also discussed CEQ's recent report on recommended actions on a national climate change adaptation strategy, stating, "The Administration remains committed to reducing carbon emissions to minimize the impacts of climate change and promote the best practices to adapt to climate change."

As a member of the U.S. delegation to last month's 16th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico, Sutley reported that progress continues to be made on climate agreements that will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fattah, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, told the mayors that because of their work on the energy block grant "innovative energy projects are being implemented across the nation." He praised the mayors for urging their congressional representatives to support continued funding of the energy block grant program, noting that 40 Members of Congress recently signed a letter to the President requesting him to include full funding for the program in his FY 2012 Budget Request. "When we last met, I pledged to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to seek funding for the energy efficiency block grants and will continue to do so, it's a program that both sides can get behind," he said.

Praising his home city mayor, Nutter, Fattah cited examples of energy projects underway in Philadelphia as a result of funding provided under the EECBG program. In closing, Fattah cited the program's design, specifically its focus on job creation without a "one'size-fits-all" approach, means we "can have some bipartisan cooperation" on funding for this program.

"There is much we can do on our own, but this partnership and resources through the EECBG program are key to our local goals and national ones as well, especially now during this most challenging economy," said Brainard during his remarks as Co-Chair of the Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Task Force.

He advised panel members that the Mayors Climate Protection Center will be initiating a survey in February to document further what cities are doing with their energy block grants and will continue to develop "best practices" and even mayoral video testimonials on the benefits of the program. Brainard also urged all mayors to submit an application by the April 8 deadline for the 2011 Mayors' Climate Protection Awards.

Speaking in his capacity as the new Co-Chair of the Mayors Climate Protection Task Force, Lynch reviewed his city's energy and climate initiatives and underscored the many challenges before his city and others as they struggle with a difficult economy. Specifically, he praised the energy block grant program and its direct investment in communities as an effective means for lowering operating costs and generating savings that can be used to save police and other city positions.

Also at the session, representatives of Business Council Members ABM and Cisco Systems briefly described their initiatives to support cities in their energy efforts.