Audubon Urges Clean Energy Innovation

WASHINGTON —  “American innovation and ingenuity will drive our nation’s clean energy future. It is critical we continue robust investments in key research initiatives that promote technological development to advance those clean energy sources and drive energy efficiency. Audubon respectfully asks Secretary Perry and leaders in the House and Senate to protect and maintain funding for the Department of Energy’s research programs,” said Matthew Anderson, vice president of Audubon’s Climate Initiative, as the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development considers budget items and testimony by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.

Released in February, the Administration’s budget proposal includes a seventy-two percent reduction for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable while eliminating the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Audubon recognizes the importance of a well-funded and strategically-focused Department of Energy including the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and programs for solar and wind. Audubon believes investment in these programs is fiscally smart, and ensures that the Department is resourced to develop and deploy cutting-edge technologies that are good for birds, communities, and the American economy.

“America has long been a leader in developing and improving energy technologies, and we must maintain our competitive advantage. This work has far-reaching benefits, and it’s exactly the kind of innovation investment we need more —not less—of in the years ahead,” added Anderson.

Last month, Audubon endorsed U.S. Representatives Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and John Faso (R-NY)’s Challenges and Prizes for Climate Act of 2018, which takes advantage of existing federal prize authority to authorize the Department of Energy to reward innovation that would combat the impacts of a changing climate. This bipartisan bill, which is one of the first to be introduced by members of the Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives, incentivizes our nation’s thinkers to create new solutions to one of the most difficult and pressing issues of our time.

Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report found that 314 species of birds in North America are at risk of losing their habitats because of shifting environmental conditions due to a changing climate. These species include the Bald Eagle, the American Kestrel and the Bullock’s Oriole.  

To learn more about Audubon’s Climate Initiative, including how members and supporters can take steps to help birds in a changing climate, please visit www.audubon.org/climate.

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon's state programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon's vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more how to help at www.audubon.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @audubonsociety

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