Obama steps up climate push with federal emission targets

Fresh from announcing in his State of the Union address that he will push to pass climate legislation as soon as possible, US president Barack Obama announced a series of measures late last week designed to underscore his commitment to curbing carbon emissions.

The president announced on Friday that the federal government will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 28 per cent by 2020 against 2008 levels, well above the 17 per cent cut on 2005 levels being discussed as part of the climate bill before Congress.

Signing the new Executive Order, Obama said the government's position as the largest energy consumer in the US meant that the new targets would have a sizeable impact on greenhouse gas emissions, energy security and the country's deficit.

"Our goal is to lower costs, reduce pollution, and shift federal energy expenses away from oil and towards local, clean energy," he said.

According to the White House, the federal government spent more than $24.5bn (£15.4bn) on electricity and fuel in 2008, and as a result meeting the 2020 target would help to curb energy costs by between $8bn and $11bn by 2020, while also cutting emissions equivalent to taking 17 million cars off the road.

The administration stressed that the targets were attainable and were based on self-reported targets put forward by 35 federal agencies following a previous Executive Order from Obama ordering all departments to set emissions targets for 2020.

The move came on the same day as Obama announced $8bn in grants to upgrade America's rail network.

The money, originally earmarked as part of a $48bn transportation investment in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last January, will go towards 13 new high-speed rail networks across the country.

The investment could also help to persuade 30 railroad manufacturers to base their operations in the US if they are hired to work on the systems, the Department of Transportation said.

California emerged as the largest single recipient of the funding, with $2.3bn awarded to its high-profile project to build a state-wide high-speed rail system. According to the Preliminary National Rail Plan, published last October by the Federal Railroad Administration, the new network will ferry passengers at least 200mph between the north and south of the state.