Emanuel Announces the Greening of the Capitol
U.S. Congress to Purchase Carbon Offsets from the Chicago Climate Exchange

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, U.S. Representative Rahm Emanuel (IL-5) joined Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, officials from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the City of Chicago, and fellow Members of Congress to announce the purchase of carbon offsets on the Chicago Climate Exchange to help make the U.S. House of Representatives carbon neutral by the end of the 110th Congress.

 “Through the ‘Green the Capitol’ initiative, the House of Representatives joins Chicago in a commitment to energy efficiency and responsible stewardship of the environment,” said Emanuel.

Under the Leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA-8) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5), the House will become carbon neutral by purchasing wind power for the electricity used by the House, by substituting the House’s portion of the use of the Capitol Power Plant natural gas for coal, and to offset the carbon emitted from burning natural gas, the House will purchase carbon offsets.  After taking into account the other changes made under the Green the Capitol Initiative, the House is offsetting 30,000 tons of carbon through the purchase of carbon financial instrument contracts or carbon credits through CCX, totaling approximately $90,000.  Funding for the purchase of these carbon offsets is available in the Chief Administrative Officer’s Fiscal Year 2008 budget.

“Offsetting the House of Representative’s greenhouse gas emissions through CCX is a hat-trick for the Country – a win for the environment, a win for industry, and a win for our Nation’s expanding economy,” said Emanuel.
 
The City of Chicago is leading the way in transitioning to an eco-friendly world, bringing two solar panel manufacturers to the city, planning or negotiating the construction of over 2 million square feet of rooftop gardens, and more. The City of Chicago buys 5% of its power from renewable sources and was the first city to join CCX. CCX is a U.S. corporation that began trading in 2003 and is the world’s first and North America’s only active voluntary, legally binding integrated trading system to reduce emissions of all six greenhouse gases, with offset projects in North America and worldwide.  Other CCX Exchange Participants include the World Bank. 

Emanuel has worked with the Speaker of the House, the CAO, and other congressional leaders to include environmental initiatives such as purchasing offsets and green roofs on House Office Buildings in the Green the Capitol initiative.