WASHINGTON - The NGA Winter Meeting officially kicked off today with a governor-led opening plenary discussion highlighting the recent successes and planned actions of NGA Chair Minnesota Gov.

During the session, governors held a rich and frank discussion about the role states can play in shaping America’s energy future, heard from two notable clean energy advocates, released a new SCEF Initiative publication and unveiled the formation of a clean energy public-private partnership between NGA and Wal-Mart.

“For the better part of the past century, our nation has enjoyed an energy system that’s been relatively inexpensive and easy to use,” Gov. Pawlenty said. “But our continued reliance on this system makes us vulnerable to unstable and sometimes hostile countries that control vast amounts of the world’s energy resources and has created environmental concerns. Governors and states are stepping forward to lead an energy revolution that will ‘Americanize’ our energy production in order to improve our national security, our economic well-being and our quality of life.”

The governors announced a partnership between NGA and Wal-Mart designed to provide governors an opportunity to reduce the overall energy consumption of their state capitol complexes by having a team of Wal-Mart energy experts conduct a clean energy audit of the facility. Under the “Greening the Capitols” partnership Wal-Mart will send experts to as many as 20 state capitol complexes throughout 2008 and 2009 with the goal of identifying energy efficiency improvements that will provide a return on investment within five years.

In addition, the Wal-Mart team will demonstrate the anticipated cost savings and carbon dioxide reductions each state could experience by implementing the recommended improvements. The NGA Center for Best Practices will help identify states for participation and catalog the successes each state experiences.

“This partnership shows that governors all across this great land are taking steps today to help right the wrongs of recent inaction on this critical issue,” said NGA Vice Chair Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. “We know there is no silver bullet to solve this crisis, but when we add up all the steps states and individuals are taking across the country, we can begin to see the start of our energy revolution.”

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman addressed the governors and recounted the bleak future America faces if its energy consumption continues unabated. Friedman highlighted the unique and vital role of states in helping solve the nation’s energy challenges.

Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of General Electric Company (GE), provided insights into the role businesses can play in advancing clean energy technologies, citing GE’s Ecomagination campaign as a prime example.

NGA officially released a new report from the SCEF Initiative, “Greener Fuels, Greener Vehicles: A State Resource Guide.”

The new report provides an overview of the economic and environmental implications of an oil-dependent transportation sector and looks at state policy tools that can encourage greener transportation such as financial incentives, rules and mandates, purchasing power and research and demonstration projects. In addition, the report describes the core barriers preventing wider consumption of alternative fuels and production of alternative vehicles, as well as examples of promising state policies designed to overcome these specific barriers.

Gov. Pawlenty also shared with his colleagues the recently released SCEF Initiative publication, “A Call to Action,” a report declaring America’s current energy path unacceptable because of escalating economic risk and serious environmental consequences. The report compels the nation’s governors to act now to solve America’s energy challenges.

The SCEF Initiative enlists the efforts of all governors to make our nation a global leader in energy efficiency, clean energy technology, energy research and the use of alternative fuels. The initiative focuses both on what states can do in the near-term to address our energy challenges as well as what actions must be taken to steer the country towards a cleaner and more secure energy future.

The SCEF Initiative will continue to be a primary topic of governors’ discussions over the three-day NGA Winter Meeting.

• Story special to TheTandD.com

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