In addition to encouraging consumers to buy green vehicles through various incentives, the U.S. government is also taking a more hands-on approach as it tries to cut carbon emissions and reduce air pollution. Just like automakers, the federal government is contributing to the efforts for ending global warming, which is predominantly caused by carbon dioxide emissions, so it is constantly asking federal agencies to increase the use of clean, renewable energy sources.
Now, the government is setting a new greenhouse gas emissions target, with President Obama signing an executive order last week that aims for a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 40% compared to 2008 levels over the next ten years. Also, the President’s order mandates a 30% reduction from government vehicles by 2025, which it intends to do by expanding its green vehicle fleet.
This could play a key role for reducing the carbon footprint from federal agencies, given that the government currently has over 650,000 vehicles, which are responsible for a large portion of the government’s carbon emissions. According to official data, the federal government spends about $3 billion a year to buy new vehicles. Apart from replacing gasoline-powered cars with alternative fuel vehicles, Obama has taken various steps in the past few years to eliminate unnecessary car purchases from federal agencies.
With this latest order, federal agencies will have to purchase more plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, which will have to make up at least 20 percent of their fleets by 2020, a target that will rise to 50% by 2025. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers says that at the moment, less than 1 percent of all vehicles used by agencies at local, state and federal level run on electricity.
With this measure, the government hopes to cut overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 26 million tons over the next decade, or the equivalent of annual carbon emissions from 5.5 million vehicles, as the White House said. According to the White House, this executive order will help save $18 billion in electricity costs. During the Presidency of Barack Obama, the government has reduced carbon emissions by 17%, saving $1.8 billion. Obama has managed to secure the commitment of several federal contractors for reducing their own carbon footprint. Companies like General Electric, IBM, HP, and Honeywell, among others, have committed to reduce CO2 emissions and increase the use of electricity from renewable sources by anywhere between 20 and 30 percent over the next 10-15 years.
In addition to purchasing more green vehicles, federal agencies will have to start relying on renewable energy much more, given that Obama’s order requires them to buy at least 30% of the electricity they consume from sources that include hydropower, solar energy or wind power. Finally, federal agencies will also have to reduce water use in their buildings by 2 percent over the next ten years.