Sen. Hillary Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton
The Plan: A $50 Billion Strategic Energy Fund, modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, that would pay for research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other 'homegrown biofuels,' with the goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and creating 5 million 'clean energy' jobs in a decade.
How She'd Pay for It: Royalties from drilling on public land ($10 billion), elimination of oil company subsidies ($20 billion) and the enactment of a requirement that energy companies either pay into the fund or finance their own research and development projects ($20 billion).
What Sets Her Apart: A 'Connie Mae' program to help low-income and middle-income families make investments in energy efficiency at home.

related articles

Sen. Hillary Clinton has woven energy policy through her domestic and foreign agendas, making a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund the keystone of her plan to counteract global warming, create new jobs and disentangle the United States from volatile oil-producing nations.

She was endorsed by several environmental groups in her campaigns to represent New York in the U.S. Senate.

Between 2001 and present, her scores on the LCV Scorecard, which rates politicians on a scale of 0 to 100 based on their votes on environmental issues on which LCV has taken a position, was 90. Her score each session ranged from 71 to 100.

The 2008 Clinton campaign has taken $211,043 from the oil and gas industry, ranking her 3rd of 15 candidates and first of seven Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Hillary Clinton's Energy and Environmental Platform at a Glance

Hillary Clinton released her energy plan Nov. 6, and had previously discussed energy and environmental policies in several speeches and interviews.

CLIMATE

• Cut carbon dioxide emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Employ a cap-and-trade system whereby companies would have to restrict pollution to within a national cap, and those that pollute less could sell credits to those who pollute more. Auction all credits.
• Pledge to "personally act to restore American leadership in international discussions about global warming."
• Require all publicly traded companies to disclose financial risks due to climate change.

• Start a $50 Billion Strategic Energy Fund, modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, that would pay for research, development and deployment of renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, ethanol and other "homegrown biofuels." The money would come from royalties from drilling on public land ($10 billion) eliminating oil company subsidies ($20 billion) and requiring energy companies to either pay into the fund or finance their own research and development projects ($20 billion).
• Enact a renewable energy portfolio requiring utilities to produce 25% of energy from renewable sources like wind, solar and hydro power by 2025 or 2030.
• Make all new federal buildings designed after January 2009 carbon neutral.
• Funnel $1 billion annually into a Green Building Fund to help states and local governments and schools improve the energy efficiency of public buildings.
• Set goal of creating 5 million jobs in a new "clean energy" sector in a decade.
• Start 10 "Smart Grid City" partnerships to "prove the advanced capabilities of smart grid and other advanced demand-reduction technologies."
• Create program to renovate 20 million low-income homes with energy efficiency improvements.
• Develop a new "Connie Mae" program to help low-income and middle-income families make investments in energy efficiency at home.
• Is "agnostic" about nuclear power, given that it meets local opposition and that there's no solid plan to deal with radioactive waste.

• Expand use of biofuels to 60 billion gallons by 2030.
• Extend tax credits for biofuel production
• Require that 50% of U.S. gas stations stock E85 ethanol fuel by 2012.
• Require automakers to make all vehicles flex-fuel by 2015.
• Invest in freight rail for transporting biofuels.
• Invest $2 billion in research and development of cellulosic ethanol, and provide loan guarantees.
• Create new incentives for farmers that grow biofuel crops.
• Set goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of new biofuels to 20% of current fuel supply.
• Develop new research incentives for improving agricultural production related to biofuels.
• Enact new tax credits for energy-efficient vehicles and other vehicle research and development via the Strategic Energy Fund.
• Would increase fuel economy to 55 mpg by 2030.
• Would create $20 billion in "Green Vehicle Bonds" to help U.S. automakers finance the transition to cleaner vehicles.
• Supports liquid coal development only if it the fuel emits 20% less carbon dioxide than traditional fuels.
• Set a goal of cutting oil imports in 66%.

• Ensure scientific advice is unfiltered by politics by increasing whistle blower protections, elevating scientific advisers in the administration and taking other steps to prevent political operatives from altering scientific conclusions.
• Invest "dramatically" in basic and applied research at the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, universities and elsewhere.
• Pursue an "ambitious agenda" in space exploration and earth sciences, including a fully funded NASA earth sciences program and new climate science satellites.
• Invest unspecified amounts in math and science education, expanding fellowships for graduate study and scientific research, creating new National Science Foundation fellowships to encourage high-level teaching in under-privileged high schools and encouraging more women and minorities to choose careers in science and engineering.

• Require chemical companies to prove the safety of chemicals before putting them on the market, set more stringent exposure standards for children, create a “priority list” of existing chemicals that need more testing to prove safety, and create an “environmental health tracking network” that ties together information about pollution and chronic diseases.
• Include environmental protections in international trade agreements
• Reverse many Bush Administration executive orders and regulations related to the environment.
• Oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Update 1872 mining laws so companies pay more royalties for mining public lands and do more to restore the land after completing projects.
• Restore or increase funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and National Parks.
• Renew industry tax that had paid for toxic waste site cleanups when the polluter can not be identified or cannot afford the cleanup.

• League of Conservation Voters
• The Heat Is On, a partnership project of the LCV Education Fund
• Grist
• Hillary Clinton's Campaign Website
• Center for Responsive Politics

COMMENTS ()