COEJL Calls for Clean and Sustainable Energy

Jewish Organizations Call for
"Clean and Sustainable Energy System"

Concerns About Reliance on Imported Oil,
Climate Change, and Air Pollution Cited

NEW YORK, NY (March 3, 2000) - Amid concerns about OPEC-induced rising gasoline prices and growing awareness about the dangers of global warming, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) are calling for swift action to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels.

At its annual meeting in Baltimore, MD, the JCPA adopted a resolution on National Energy Policy, advocating that "Congress and the Administration move toward the creation of a clean and sustainable energy system for the U.S. that will diminish U.S. reliance on imported oil and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, smog-forming compounds, and pre-cursors to acid rain." The JCPA is the forum through which 13 national and 122 local Jewish public affairs organizations, as well as COEJL, develop consensus positions on pressing public policy issues.

In February, COEJL director Mark X. Jacobs testified to Congress in support of increasing vehicle fuel economy standards (CAFE). Increasing CAFE standards has been on the Jewish agenda since the oil embargoes of the 1970s.

The full text of JCPA's Resolution on National Energy Policy is available online.

Mr. Jacobs' testimony on CAFE standards can be found at www.coejl.org.