Green Building Bills Praised as Largest Step NYC Can Take to Combat Global Warming...

Green Building Bills Praised as Largest Step NYC Can Take to Combat Global
Warming and Build a Green Workforce

EDF testifies legislation will cut energy demand, pay for themselves, help
reduce consumer electric bills

NEW YORK, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Defense Fund today
testified that if the New York City Council passes a green building
legislative package, it could "generate thousands of jobs" and "position the
city and its workforce as national leaders in green building technology."

EDF testified at a 10 a.m. public hearing in City Council Chambers about the
green building legislative package, which would apply to 22,000 city buildings
over 50,000 square feet - 2.5 billion square feet -- approximately 45 percent
of the square footage of all city buildings. The legislative package includes
an energy code bill, a lighting bill, a benchmarking bill and an
audit/retrofit bill.

"These bills constitute the largest and most cost-effective action New York
City can take to reduce energy demand, greenhouse gas impacts and consumer
electric bills," said Elizabeth Stein, an attorney at Environmental Defense
Fund. "The bottom line is that energy efficiency helps the bottom line. These
bills require only changes that pay for themselves, and they will cut energy
bills for homeowners and businesses in all boroughs. Equally important,
efficiency reduces summer peak electricity demand, lowering the risk of
blackouts and reducing pressure to build power plants in our communities."

Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn announced the green building legislative
package during a ceremony in April. The bills are designed to achieve carbon
reductions, train workers for new jobs that will be created by the
legislation, and help finance energy-saving improvements by using funds from
the federal stimulus bill, formally called "The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act."

"EDF applauds the flexibility built into the bills," added Stein. "The
retrofit bill, which achieves the largest reduction of the entire package of
bills, gives building owners flexibility to decide for themselves which
changes are most cost-effective for their buildings, and there are generous
timelines and exemptions that recognize challenges posed by the current
financial crisis."

"This is the time to act: global warming must be solved and energy bills must
come down," concluded Stein. "President Obama has made a national cap on
greenhouse gas emissions a signature priority, and a bill capping greenhouse
gas emissions is making its way through Congress. By acting now, New York can
develop its workforce early, and be ready to lead a national market for energy
efficiency expertise."

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization,
represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund
has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships
to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.
For more information, visitwww.edf.org.

Contact:
Bennett Kleinberg, 212-576-2700, bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com
John Bianchi, 212-576-2700, jbianchi@goodmanmedia.com
Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org

SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund

Sean Crowley of Environmental Defense Fund, +1-202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org;
Bennett Kleinberg, +1-212-576-2700, bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com, or John
Bianchi, +1-212-576-2700, jbianchi@goodmanmedia.com, both for Environmental
Defense Fund