October, 06 2010, 04:10pm EDT
NRDC Sues Federal Housing Regulators for Blocking Affordable Clean Energy Projects for Homeowners
Federal housing regulators must stop obstructing programs that make
energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects affordable for
American homeowners, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
NEW YORK
Federal housing regulators must stop obstructing programs that make
energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy projects affordable for
American homeowners, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Natural
Resources Defense Council.
"Federal housing regulators are standing in the way of
programs that make clean energy projects affordable for homeowners and
lower electricity bills," said Katherine Kennedy, Energy Counsel at
NRDC. "It defies common sense that the federal government is blocking
programs that could create jobs, jumpstart our economy, put money in
homeowners' pockets, and fight climate change at the same time. Instead
of shutting them down, the federal government should help these programs
grow."
NRDC filed the lawsuit in federal district court in the
Southern District of New York against the Federal Housing Finance
Agency, which regulates government sponsored mortgage buyers Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,
which regulates national banks. The agencies have halted clean energy
financing programs--called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
programs-- that are already off the ground in California, Colorado and
New York, and have been adopted in 20 other states and the District of
Columbia.
With PACE programs, the upfront costs of property owners'
clean energy projects are financed by municipalities. Homeowners then
pay off the projects as an incremental charge on their property taxes
over an extended period of up to 20 years - with the savings on their
energy bills often exceeding the costs of the payments from the start.
The program is entirely voluntary and easily transferable to the next
property owner if the current resident decides to move. It can be used
to fund anything from small-scale renewable energy systems, like solar
panels, to energy efficiency upgrades, like better windows, insulation,
or heating and cooling systems.
The Obama Administration has supported PACE programs in the
past, with the Department of Energy awarding more than $150 million in
federal stimulus funds to support them last year. But federal housing
regulators have since halted the programs nationwide through a backdoor
administrative action. In July, FHFA and OCC issued statements to Fannie
Mae, Freddie Mac and the national banks that effectively halted PACE
efficiency programs nationwide. The result has been a freeze on nearly
all existing and planned PACE programs, leaving millions of dollars in
federal stimulus funds in question, and thousands of jobs implementing
the projects in limbo, in addition to putting climate change goals and
economic development plans across the country on hold.
NRDC is suing the agencies for halting the programs without
justification, and for doing so without following the proper protocol as
required by law. This includes failing to conduct a review of the
environmental impacts and to provide the public an opportunity to
comment before taking this action.
"Financing is a key barrier for property owners who are
interested in lowering their bills with clean energy improvements," said
Greg Hale, Senior Finance Specialist at NRDC's Center for Market
Innovation. "PACE programs provide a unique solution - allowing them to
overcome this roadblock without relying on public dollars, and with
virtually no risk to existing lenders. In fact, with PACE programs,
clean energy improvements can reduce the risk of mortgage default by
lowering energy bills and increasing property values."
In California, Attorney General Jerry Brown, Sonoma County,
the City of Palm Desert and the Sierra Club have filed similar federal
lawsuits. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and U.S. Representative Mike
Thompson have also introduced federal legislation that would require the
federal government to allow states and localities to move forward with
PACE programs.
New York State is one of the 23 states that have enacted PACE
legislation, and the state received $40 million of the DOE's stimulus
funds for PACE energy efficiency programs. In New York, at least 24
communities and three counties have implemented or are considering PACE
programs, including New York City, Babylon, Bedford, Binghamton, Ithaca,
Nassau County, Albany County and Tompkins County.
The full complaint can be found online here: https://docs.nrdc.org/energy/files/ene_10100601a.pdf.
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
(212) 727-2700LATEST NEWS
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"If we have to, we will fight with our nails," the Israeli prime minister said in response to the American leader's warning against a major Rafah invasion.
May 09, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday responded to U.S. President Joe Biden's threat to withhold shipments of arms used by the Israel Defense Forces to kill thousands of Palestinian civilians by declaring that his far-right government would continue its assault on Gaza with or without American help.
"If we are forced to stand alone, we will stand alone," Netanyahu said in a video ahead of next week's anniversary of Israel's establishment in 1948, largely via the ethnic cleansing of Palestine's Arabs. "I have already said that if we have to, we will fight with our nails."
Echoing Netanyahu, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the IDF already has the "necessary weapons" to wage war, "including in Rafah," where over 1 million people forcibly displaced from other parts of Gaza are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents, all of them bracing for a full-scale Israeli invasion.
The prime minister's remarks came a day after Biden threatened to withhold bombs and artillery shells from Israel if it launches a major invasion of Rafah—even as critics noted that Israeli forces have already attacked and entered the city. Some accused Biden of walking back a previous "red line" warning against any assault on Rafah.
Common Dreamsreported Tuesday that Biden is delaying shipments of two types of bombs to Israel in order to send a message that the president's tolerance for what he called Israel's "indiscriminate bombing" of Gazan civilians is waning.
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The U.S. administration also provides diplomatic cover for Israel's policies and practices in the form of United Nations Security Council vetoes.
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May 09, 2024
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir was sharply condemned on Thursday for lashing out at U.S. President Joe Biden after the American leader threatened to withhold weapons if Israel scales up its ongoing assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue the war with or without outside assistance, Ben-Gvir—who rose to his current post despite being convicted of incitement to racism and supporting an anti-Arab group that Israel classifies as a terrorist organization—took aim at the U.S. president on social media, writing, "Hamas ❤️ Biden."
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Once Biden threatened to cut off weapons to Israel on Wednesday, reporter Emma Vigeland predicted responses along the lines of, "Biden is an antisemite who loves Hamas." After Ben-Gvir's post on X, formerly Twitter, she said, "Update: This is not even a parody tweet anymore."
Journalist Mehdi Hasan also seemed unsurprised by the news, writing: "Yep, now Biden is Hamas too. Can't make this stuff up."
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"It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm still alive."
The line has become familiar to social media users and viewers of the Al Jazeera Media Network's show of the same name, hosted by Palestinian journalist and activist Bisan Owda. On Thursday the show was lauded by the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors as it awarded Owda one of journalism's highest honors.
"Despite a lack of clean water and the increasing scarcity of food, she draws on her indomitable spirit to keep the world informed," said the board. "For showing bravery and persistence in the midst of imminent danger, and for carrying a heavy journalistic burden as the entire world looks on, It's Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive is honored with a Peabody Award."
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On Thursday, Save the Children International featured Owda's reporting on Israel's takeover of the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border as it invaded the city of Rafah this week.
"No people can evacuate to a safe place, no humanitarian aid trucks entering," she said in the video. "Now I am in the middle of Rafah, and these people behind me are trying to gather their stuff. Their mattresses, some food. And they're taking now their stuff again to be displaced again after living [here] for months."
The situation in #Gaza is devastating.
The takeover by Israeli forces of the #Rafah crossing means no aid can enter.
Due to the rise in violence & evacuation orders, families are fleeing again, despite there being nowhere safe to go.
Bisan reports from Rafah👇#CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/5vISDNweOl
— Save the Children International (@save_children) May 9, 2024
Accepting the Peabody, Owda said she and other journalists in Gaza "rise simply to document the genocide happening to our people."
"The victory of the Palestinian cause was never just for Palestinians," she said. "It is rather a victory for humanity."
She dedicated the award to people around the world who are helping to defeat "one of the [Israeli] occupation's strongest tools": dividing people "so we can never support one another."
"I dedicate this award to all the college students who are protesting," she said. "To all the people who took to the streets. To all the people at home who are participating in boycotts. To all the people worldwide, regardless of their religion, color, and ethnicity. Regardless of what makes them different, they're united in one mission: in their demands for a free Palestine. You deserve this award. And so do we."
Bisan Owda has just won one of broadcast journalism’s highest honors – the Peabody Award – for her work with AJ+.
Bisan is currently facing intense Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the occupied Gaza Strip. This is her message to the world: pic.twitter.com/rFTV7jjBIN
— AJ+ (@ajplus) May 9, 2024
"And one day, this genocide will end," she continued. "And Palestine will be free. And we will welcome you here on Gazan soil. All of you... Thank you so much for this award and for always supporting us, standing by us, and for continuing to do so until we reach our demands: an end to the genocide, a cease-fire, and a free Palestine."
Tony Karon, editorial lead at AJ+, which has collaborated with Owda since Israel's onslaught began, applauded Owda's "heroic storytelling."
"We strive to tell the human story from where the missiles land, to elevate the human spirit and the hope that it brings for better days, to shine a light on places and stories those in power would rather keep shrouded in darkness," he said.
Zahira Jaher, a professor at University of Sussex in the U.K., said Owda and other journalists in Gaza "are rewriting how reporting is done... She is the future of Palestine."
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