By Mark Wagner, VP – Government Relations, Johnson Controls

With his inauguration now just four weeks away, Barack Obama continues to send welcome signals that he intends to turn the energy promises of his campaign into the energy policies of his administration.

The president-elect’s picks for his energy and environmental team indicate his apparent determination to dramatically increase the federal government’s focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy while more aggressively attacking the growing threat of climate change. 

Carol Browner – tabbed to become Obama’s energy czar – will coordinate energy and environmental issues across more than a dozen federal agencies. Formerly head of the EPA under President Clinton, Browner believes climate change is “the greatest challenge ever faced,” and supports more aggressive limits on greenhouse gas emissions from all sources.

The president-elect’s pick for energy secretary – Steven Chu, currently head of the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and a Nobel Prize winner – is a strong proponent of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Chu promises to help ensure that the administration’s energy policies and initiatives are backed by sound science.

Lisa Jackson – nominated to head the EPA – served as an enforcement officer in the agency for 16 years. As commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, Jackson championed regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Nancy Sutley, who will head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is currently deputy mayor of Los Angeles for energy and the environment, where she is viewed as an expert on water quality.

And, the naming of Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) as Secretary of Labor puts an expert in green jobs at the head of the Department of Labor. Solis has been a Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. She helped push through the Green Jobs Act, which became part of the Energy, Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Obama’s selection of experienced leaders with strong backgrounds in science and regulation are further evidence that he intends to move forward to tackle climate change by increasing limits on emissions and rapidly developing new clean energy technologies.

But in a recent weekly address on YouTube, the president-elect also said, “We will launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy efficient. Our government now pays the highest energy bills in the world. We need to change that. We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs.”

Obama’s continued emphasis on energy efficiency as the fastest way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, curb greenhouse gas emissions and create green collar jobs is for me the most encouraging news of all.

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