According to a new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, adoption of emissions-limiting public policy could cut U.S. energy bills in half by mid-century.

Investments in energy efficiency versus conventional energy use may lead to up to half of the emissions reductions that analysts say are necessary by 2050 in addition to spurring economic growth and job creation.

The report also suggests that many studies on the economic impact of climate legislation rely on models that underestimate the importance of advances in energy efficiency.

Because it is an "invisible energy source," many economic models have ignored the potential gains arising from energy efficiency improvements, according to John Laitner, director of economic and social analysis at ACEEE. "Energy efficiency is the cheapest and largest resource to satisfy the growing demand services in the U.S. economy."

A new study finds that the planet is expected to heat up faster than predicted over the next five years.

The analysis shows that in the last seven years, a decline in incoming sunlight "associated with the downward phase of the 11-year solar cycle" has helped obscure warming caused by carbon emissions, and that immediate analysis of man-made changes have been skewed accordingly. As sun activity increases again, the report suggests, temperatures will rise more quickly than was predicted by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The report, to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, is being jointly released by Judith Lean, of the US Naval Research Laboratory, and David Rind, of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
 The study is thought to be the first to gauge the combined impacts of human-generated emissions, solar heating, volcanic activity, and "El Nino southern oscillation," on global temperature fluctuations.

The earth's leading greenhouse gas emitters are taking substantive steps toward clean energy innovation.

The United States and China announced plans on a joint clean energy research center, a compromise project aimed at developing clean building and vehicle technology and fostering a more convivial air between the two countries.

The project, which will be driven by headquarter facilities in both countries, is a significant part of the effort to lobby China to promote development of solar, wind, biofuels and other clean energy in the private sector, already a burgeoning movement.

One of the initiative's main proponents is U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Secretary Chu, who urged China to set carbon emission targets for the year 2050, also warned that the rising sea levels that will result from global warming would displace more people in China than in any other country. 

In addition to spurring clean energy development within China, U.S. officials pushed for a more open network for international communication: Commerce Secretary Gary Locke appealed to leaders of the new partner nation to avoid forcing trade barriers on clean energy technology: "We need to empower U.S. and Chinese entrepreneurs and innovators to create and collaborate free from artificial trade barriers."

With lawmakers moving forward on a bold new piece of climate legislation in the House, a green job boom seems to be on the horizon.

A report released last week finds that investing in a clean energy economy should help alleviate a soaring unemployment rate and improve job prospects across a wide range of sectors and experience levels.

The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (PERI) report focuses on job creation and the investment opportunities that stand to emerge in a clean energy economy.

The report concluded that blue collar workers would be among the biggest beneficiaries of a nationwide clean energy boost. Workers with "relatively low educational credentials" stand to gain the most. An estimated 870,000 of the predicted 1.7 million (net increase) jobs arising from the move to a clean energy economy will be accessible to workers with high school degrees or less.

In addition to generating new opportunities for blue collar workers, a clean energy economy is projected to bring about a drop in the overall unemployment rate and a raise in per capita earnings for current low-income workers.

The total bounty of a clean energy economy is projected to include a 300 percent improvement in job opportunities over those found in fossil fuel fields and a significant reduction in day-to-day living costs for members of low-income households.

"One has to hope it will influence how people think about particular legislative proposals."

-- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, confirming the need for new energy legislation following the release of a major report on the impact of global warming.

President-elect Barack Obama has introduced his energy and environment team, naming Carol Browner to lead a new council on climate, environment and energy issues; Steven Chu as energy secretary; Lisa Jackson as EPA administrator; and Nancy Sutley as head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Larry Schweiger, President and CEO of National Wildlife Federation, said:

“President-elect Barack Obama reiterated his clean energy priorities just last week, promising to repower America and redesign how we use energy—to create jobs as we preserve our planet. Now he's put in place an experienced team that can get the job done.

“President-elect Obama has demonstrated with this team his commitment to change the course of America's energy policy; underscored by the appointment of Carol Browner to head a new council coordinating White House policy on energy, climate, and environment. Having served with her on the board of the Alliance for Climate Protection, I can tell you Carol Browner is an outstanding choice who can make up for eight years of lost opportunity by lending her proven leadership to usher in a new era of climate and energy initiatives.

“Especially in light of New Jersey's leadership on strong targets for carbon emission cuts, Lisa Jackson is exactly what this country and its precious environment needs in an EPA administrator: a practical, smart and dedicated individual who has a track record of moving sound environmental and conservation policies forward that benefit us all. We applaud the new administration's commitment to restoring protections for America's wetlands, streams, and floodplains. This will be of particular importance as global warming continues to impact the resiliency of the natural resources a strong economy depends on.

“Steven Chu's selection as energy secretary shows the White House will no longer be a battleground in the war on science. Instead, a Nobel laureate who's been a strong and powerful voice on the urgent need to confront global warming will lead our national energy policy. And if there's anyone who knows climate change must be dealt with on every level—by nations, states, and localities—it’s Nancy Sutley, who's handled environmental issues from each of those perspectives.

“President-elect Obama's team knows that the most important thing America can do in 2009 to galvanize investment in clean energy technology is to enact a cap-and-invest plan that reduces global warming pollution and grows clean energy technologies that will recharge our economy. The National Wildlife Federation looks forward to working with them to help make it happen.”