October 12, 2007—A new report from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that in 2006, EPA’s climate protection programs prevented 70 million metric tons of carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions—up from 63 million in 2005.
The report, “Energy Star and Other Climate Protection Partnerships 2006 Annual Report,” includes highlights of savings from the government’s Energy Star program. With the help of Energy Star, Americans reportedly avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million automobiles in 2006—up from 23 million in 2005—while saving more than $14 billion on their energy bills. Americans also saved 170 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy in 2006, or almost five percent of the total 2006 electricity demand, according to the report.
The report details the environmental and economic accomplishments of these programs and outlines goals for 2007 and beyond. It is available for download from the EPA Web site.
