[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 15 (Monday, April 19, 1999)]
[Pages 654-655]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Carbon Dioxide Emissions

April 15, 1999

Memorandum for the Secretary of Energy, Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency

Subject: Report on Carbon Dioxide (CO<INF>2</INF>) Emissions

    My Administration's proposal to promote retail competition in the 
electric power industry, if enacted, will help to deliver economic 
savings, cleaner air, and a significant down payment on greenhouse gas 
emissions reductions. The proposal exemplifies my Administration's 
commitment to pursue both

[[Page 655]]

economic growth and environmental progress simultaneously.
    As action to advance retail competition proceeds at both the State 
and Federal levels, the Administration and the Congress share an 
interest in tracking environmental indicators in this vital sector. We 
must have accurate and frequently updated data.
    Under current law, electric power generators report various types of 
data relating to generation and air emissions to the Department of 
Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To ensure 
that this data collection is coordinated and provides for timely 
consideration by both the Administration and the Congress, you are 
directed to take the following actions:
1.          On an annual basis, you shall provide me with a report 
            summarizing CO<INF>2</INF> emissions data collected during 
            the previous year from all utility and nonutility 
            electricity generators providing power to the grid, 
            beginning with 1998 data. This information shall be provided 
            to me no more than 6 months after the end of the previous 
            year, and for 1998, within 6 months of the date of this 
            directive.
2.          The report, which may be submitted jointly, shall present 
            CO<INF>2</INF> emissions information on both a national and 
            regional basis, stratified by the type of fuel used for 
            electricity generation, and shall indicate the percentage of 
            electricity generated by each type of fuel or energy 
            resource. The CO<INF>2</INF> emissions shall be reported 
            both on the basis of total mass (tons) and output rate 
            (e.g., pounds per megawatt-hour).
3.          The report shall present the amount of CO<INF>2</INF> 
            reduction and other available information from voluntary 
            carbon-reducing and carbon-sequestration projects 
            undertaken, both domestically and internationally, by the 
            electric utility sector.
4.          The report shall identify the main factors contributing to 
            any change in CO<INF>2</INF> emissions or CO<INF>2</INF> 
            emission rates relative to the previous year on a national, 
            and if relevant, regional basis. In addition, the report 
            shall identify deviations from the actual CO<INF>2</INF> 
            emissions, generation, and fuel mix of their most recent 
            projections developed by the Department of Energy and the 
            Energy Information Administration, pursuant to their 
            existing authorities and missions.
5.          In the event that Federal restructuring legislation has not 
            been enacted prior to your submission of the report, the 
            report shall also include any necessary updates to estimates 
            of the environmental effects of my Administration's 
            restructuring legislation.
6.          Neither the DOE nor the EPA may collect new information from 
            electricity generators or other parties in order to prepare 
            the report.
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this memorandum.