Memorandum on Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reporting

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

Subject: Report on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 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 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 CO2 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 CO2 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 CO2 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 CO2 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 CO2 emissions or CO2 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 CO2 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