proven results of current programs continue into the future, we expect these results to be expanded even much more greatly over the course of the next decade. What is more, we expect overall program effectiveness to improve as EPA's programs mature and more energy-efficient technologies become available. As Jay Hakes will note in his testimony later this morning, the early market penetration of energy-efficient technologies, the kind of early penetration accelerated by EPA's programs, may reduce future costs through the learning and establishment of infrastructure and increasing familiarity with new technology. I mention EIA's testimony because, while it recognizes some of the positive aspects of EPA's programs, it is strikingly incomplete. It focuses largely on the tax incentives, underestimates their effects, and ignores the larger context in which the tax incentives operate. Tax incentives are only one part of the Climate Change Technology Initiative's balanced and integrated approach. The initiative uses tax incentives, research and development, and technology deployment programs, in tandem, to accelerate the introduction and market penetration of new energy-efficient technology. By analyzing only one element of that effort, the EIA's conclusions are misleading, and the Climate Change Technology Initiative's potential of across-the-board benefits to the economy and to the environment are overlooked. Mr. Chairman, we look forward to working with you as we move forward in our efforts to try to expand the very good results which we have had with our programs for both the economy and the environment, and look forward to your questions. Thank you. [The statement and biography of Mr. Gardiner follow:] TESTIMONY OF DAVID M. GARDINER ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 14, 1999 I want to thank Chairman Calvert and Members of the Subcommittee for inviting me here today to give EPA's perspective on the FY 2000 Budget for the President's Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI). EPA plays a key role in CCTI through several different programs that already have produced concrete environmental and economic benefits and improved the lives of many Americans. The President's budget proposals will allow us to multiply those benefits in the future, saving the American people billions of dollars per year in unnecessary energy costs, and avoiding millions of tons of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. The driving force behind CCTI is the serious and growing threat posed by global warming. The basic scientific facts are virtually beyond dispute. Manmade emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases undoubtedly are changing the composition of the earth's atmosphere. Since pre-industrial times, carbon dioxide concentrations are up about 30 percent, methane concentrations have doubled, and nitrous oxide is up about 15 percent. Since these gases help trap the sun's radiation, over the past century the average temperature on earth has increased between a half and one degree Fahrenheit. Sea levels have risen 4 - 10 inches over the past century. The frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased throughout much of the ! Our view of the future is less certain, of course, but the possible -- and indeed likely-consequences of steadily increasing greenhouse gas emissions, with attendant rises in average temperatures and sea levels worldwide, would be widespread and very serious. The best available science suggests that over the next century a worsening greenhouse effect could impose high costs on natural habitat, certain species of wildlife, coastlands, estuaries, drinking water aquifers, and human health. The benefits of CCTI are not limited to global warming. Our experience to date shows that EPA's voluntary, common-sense efforts in this area also help bolster the economy, protect public health from a variety of pollutants, improve productivity, and strengthen national security as they reduce our demand for imported energy. In my opinion, they are among the best investments made in our country today through the federal budget, returning $70 to the American people for every dollar spent. The CCTI represents a balanced three-part approach to achieve these benefits: R&D, to develop promising technologies, demonstrate their capabilities, and lower their costs; Targeted tax credits, to support the initial stages of accelerated deployment of innovative technologies; Voluntary programs, to accelerate market penetration in subsequent EPA's climate change efforts are almost exclusively voluntary government-industry partnerships. They are designed to overcome marketplace barriers that block other cost-effective investments in energy-efficient and environmentally-clean technologies. These market barriers include the lack of accurate, reliable consumer information on the environmental and economic benefits of different products, low incentives for private-sector research and development, and a lack of corporate data on energy use and pollutant emissions. EPA's technology deployment programs minimize or remove these barriers in the marketplace so that businesses, households, governments, and industries can develop and deploy clean technologies much faster than they would in a business-as-usual environment. Let me emphasize some important aspects of EPA's programs. First, they are completely voluntary; each of our 7,000 partners in private businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments has chosen to participate. Second, our programs impose no regulatory costs on the private sector; on the contrary, they help our partners save money, thus making them more profitable and competitive. Third, our programs provide no financial subsidies; rather, they elicit the involvement of our partners simply because they make economic and environmental sense. Furthermore, our programs foster earlier market penetration of costeffective, environmentally-protective technologies. By doing so, they increase the likelihood that these technologies will be adopted by non-participating companies, universities, hospitals, and state and local governments as well. Indeed, some of the technologies our programs have leveraged -- e.g., energyefficient computers -- are now the standard norm around the world, even in some developing countries. The broadest possible use of these technologies generates an additional economic benefit for the United States, because in many cases the technologies are developed and sold by American companies. In addition, because these technologies usually reduce emissions of many air pollutants besides greenhouse gases, they help us achieve a number of our long-term health goals. Perhaps the most important quality of these programs is that their benefits are immediate. When an investment is made today in energy-efficient technology, energy use drops immediately. Money is saved immediately. Air pollutants, including greenhouse gases, are reduced immediately. All those savings resulting from new technology deployment continue to accrue for decades to come, resulting in enormous aggregate benefits. If, on the other hand, we invest today in inefficient and out-of-date technologies, we will miss out on a huge opportunity to change our environmental and economic future for the better. Just as one example, 60 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2010 will be generated by manufacturing plants, equipment, and products that will be purchased between now and then. In other words, if we are concerned about air quality in 2010 and beyond, if we are concerned about the effects of global warming in the year 2010 and beyond, we can address those concerns today in the decisions we make to purchase new capital stock. EPA's CCTI programs already funded by Congress are helping American businesses, communities, and consumers make better investment and purchasing decisions, and those decisions are already boosting profits, improving worker productivity, and cleaning up the air. Let me give you just a few examples. Schools nationwide that have joined EPA's ENERGY STAR Buildings and Home builders have built more than 5,000 new ENERGY STAR Homes that use 30 percent less energy than conventional structures, saving each homeowner $400 per year on energy costs. Hundreds of businesses, large and small, are protecting the environment while saving money through their participation in CCTI programs. For example, in the Wisconsin headquarters building of West Bend Mutual Insurance, efficient building design is credited with saving about $125,000 per year on utility bills while improving employee productivity by about |