VISION
Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation that is consistent with our core principles.
BICEP was founded on the belief that the energy and climate challenges facing the United States present vast opportunities, along with urgent risks, for U.S. businesses. A rapid transition to a 21st century, low-carbon economy will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing our planet’s fragile climate.
We, the members of BICEP, seek long-term prosperity for our businesses, our economy, and the countries and communities in which we operate. We work in every state and our products and services are in the homes and impact the lives of Americans across the country. As individual companies, we have taken strong steps to reduce our emissions and become more energy efficient, but we recognize that the U.S. must act boldly and swiftly to enact effective energy and climate policies to address the challenges and seize the opportunities we face. Only the market certainty provided by clear policies will spur development of an efficient clean energy economy at the necessary scale, and allow the U.S. to remain globally competitive.
GOAL
In accordance with the recommendations of an overwhelming majority of leading climate scientists, BICEP’s overall goal is broad, bi-partisan consensus among policy makers to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with an interim goal of at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. We recognize that there are a number of ways to reach this level of mitigation.
We therefore stand behind the following principles in the development of U.S. energy and climate policy:
PRINCIPLES
I. Promote Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
II. Increase Investment in a Clean Energy Economy
III. Support Climate Change Adaptation, Technology Transfer and Forest Preservation
ESSENTIAL POLICY ELEMENTS
1. Establish aggressive energy efficiency policies: The United States should promote at least a doubling of the historic rate of efficiency improvement.
2. Adopt a renewable energy policy: The United States should require that 20 percent of the nation’s electricity be generated by renewable energy sources by 2020, and 30 percent by 2030.
3. Increase investment in clean energy technology: The United States should encourage and incentivize public and private investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy technology.
4. Encourage transportation for a clean energy economy: The United States should enact standards, incentives, and other policies to promote efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, low-carbon fuels, reductions in vehicle miles traveled and transit-oriented development.
5. Promote an efficient energy market by adjusting fuel subsidies and pricing carbon appropriately: The United States should adjust energy subsidies to discourage higher polluting energy sources and provide incentives for cleaner ones. All energy prices and relevant subsidies should eventually reflect their full environmental, social and economic costs.
6. Diversify utility energy portfolios: Utility regulators should analyze the risks and costs of all energy resource options in inclusive, transparent planning processes and pursue diversification of utility portfolios, adding energy efficiency, demand response and renewable energy resources to the portfolio mix.
7. Support climate change adaptation domestically and internationally: The United States should support the development of adaptation technology to prepare for and adapt to extreme weather, water scarcity, reduced crop yields, and other climate impacts that harm local communities and global supply chains alike.
8. Support developing countries in reducing carbon emissions: The United States should support developing countries in designing and implementing low carbon growth strategies by encouraging technology transfers and forest protection.