U.S. Government Agencies to Slash Greenhouse Gas Emissions 41.8 Percent

U.S. federal agencies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations to 41.8 percent below 2008 levels by 2025, the White House announced on Monday.

The announcement comes one week before nearly 200 countries meet in Paris to negotiate a United Nations climate change pact and eight months after President Barack Obama ordered agencies to cut its emissions by at least 40 percent by 2025.

The cuts will come from across the government's 360,000 buildings, 650,000 vehicles and from its extensive supply chain.

"Federal agencies have developed targeted strategies to cut their GHG emissions by reducing energy use in their buildings, making their vehicles more efficient, using clean energy sources like wind and solar, and employing energy savings performance contracts," the White House said.

Among the steps the agencies will take, NASA said it will reduce its energy consumption at the Johnson Space Center in Houston by 17 percent and break ground on a 1.6 megawatt solar plant to power its White Sands test facility in New Mexico.

The Department of Homeland Security will boost the energy efficiency of its operations, including installing solar power facilities at its facilities in California and Puerto Rico.

The federal government is the largest energy consumer in the United States.

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