Stakeholders Along the Road to Rio+20 Call Upon Leaders for Action at Upcoming Earth Summit

Maggie Comstock
Policy Analyst
U.S. Green Building Council

On June 5, the Road to Rio+20 series made a final pit stop in Washington D.C., the North American host city for World Environment Day, to launch a new report, Advancing the Transformation to a Green Economy through Green Buildings and Resource Efficient Cities: Key Messages from North America. The series, a collaborative initiative between the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the United Nations Environment Programme’s Regional Office of North America (UNEP RONA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s North American Office (WBCSD U.S., Inc.), kicked off in Toronto in October 2011 and visited six cities around the U.S. and Canada to raise awareness about Rio+20 and to engage North American stakeholders in promoting green buildings as a conduit of the green economy. Stakeholders and participants along the Road to Rio+20 identified obstacles and messages for decision makers, which were compiled into the final report.

Roger Platt, Jessica McGlyn, Amy Fraenkel & Jason Hartke

The launch of the report featured remarks by the Director of UNEP RONA, Amy Fraenkel, who introduced the Road to Rio+20 series and our goals moving towards Rio. USGBC’s Vice President of National Policy Jason Hartke presented the findings of the report including the top five messages for decision makers: 1. improve awareness, education and training; 2. empower local action and innovation; 3. increase financial resources and remove barriers to long-term investments; 4. encourage common metrics, methodologies and tools; and 5. promote stakeholder collaboration and public-private partnerships. 

USGBC's Roger Platt, Vice President Joe Biden to Speak at National Clean Energy Summit

Roger Platt, USGBC's Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Law, is to speak at the National Clean Energy Summit 4.0: The Future of Energy on Tuesday, August 30, 2011. The event, sponsored by the Center for American Progress, the Clean Energy Project, MGM Resorts International, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, will convene key stakeholders—from seasoned business executives and entrepreneurs to public officials and energy policy advocates—to discuss the necessary steps needed to adopt robust national clean energy policy, and in doing so, realize the goals of energy security and independence and promote the clean energy economy.

Platt explains in his prepared remarks, "...buildings account for 70% of our country’s electricity consumption and 40% of our total greenhouse gas emissions. A huge part of that impact comes from completely avoidable and staggering energy waste…in stopping that waste—especially through building energy retrofits—we can tap a major source of projects and jobs that can’t be exported and that have huge up-stream and down-stream supply chain implications."

Joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Platt will not only highlight the facts about energy waste in the Western world, but also recommended practical and economically-sound policy solutions to harness the low-hanging fruits of energy efficiency.

"Today if in my business I waste more energy than you do...I get a bigger business expense tax deduction under federal and state laws...but if I invest in the kind of project I’ve been discussing the tax consequences can be quite negative. This imbalance can and should be addressed through tax policies that I’m very pleased are finally under serious consideration in Washington," says Platt.

Platt will explain how small, yet crucial tax code adjustments like this can go a long way to undo the perverse incentives which currently prevent energy and emissions reductions in the United States.

A webcast of the event will be available at www.cleanenergysummit.org beginning at 9 a.m. PT.

Read the press release »
Access Roger Platt's prepared remarks »