THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

                     VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES 
                     NEW ENERGY STAR PARTNERSHIPS

               Manufacturers To Promote Energy-Saving TVs, 
                 VCRs to Reduce Energy Costs, Emissions

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Gore announced today (1/8) new partnerships with leading manufacturers to promote energy-saving TVs and VCRs with the potential to save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars in electricity bills and significantly curb greenhouse gas pollution.

These agreements are a great example of government and business working together to improve energy efficiency, save consumers money, create new economic opportunities and protect the environment, the Vice President said from the White House via satellite to participants at the opening session of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV. The American people want a clean environment and they want better, more energy-efficient products as well.

Under agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 11 consumer electronics companies will produce and market TVs and VCRs that use significantly less energy than products currently on the market, with no sacrifice in performance or change in price. Qualifying TVs and VCRs will bear an ENERGY STAR label (ENERGY STAR(c)), telling consumers that they have been certified as energy-efficient by the EPA.

The energy savings will help reduce the burning of fossil fuels and the related carbon dioxide pollution that contributes to global warming. If every American family replaced their TVs and VCRs with ENERGY STAR models, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by five million tons every year -- equivalent to eliminating the pollution from more than one million cars.

Moreover, TVs and VCRs use energy both when they are on and when they are off. Americans spend more than $1 billion a year on energy consumed by TVs and VCRs when they are not in use. The new ENERGY STAR models will reduce that energy leakage up to 75 percent. Ultimately, this will mean more than $500 million a year in energy savings for consumers.

By using ENERGY STAR products, the American people will save money on their electric bills and use less energy, the Vice President said. That makes good economic sense and it's good for our environment.

The ENERGY STAR program proves that we can meet the challenges of global warming through the marketplace, through new technology and innovation, through good business sense. So here's the message for consumers: Taking action against global warming is as easy as looking for the ENERGY STAR logo, he said.

Manufacturers participating in the new ENERGY STAR agreements are Philips (Sylvania and Magnavox), Thomson (GE, RCA and ProScan), JVC, LG Electronics (Goldstar), Matsushita (Panasonic), Samsung, Sanyo Fisher, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and Zenith. They have agreed to produce and market at least one TV or VCR meeting the ENERGY STAR standards beginning this month.

Since the ENERGY STAR program began in 1992, EPA and the Department of Energy have forged partnerships with hundreds of manufacturers. More than 2,000 products now bear the ENERGY STAR logo, including computers, refrigerators, dishwashers, air conditioners and new homes. The typical U.S. household could cut its energy bill by about 30 percent -- saving nearly $400 a year -- by purchasing ENERGY STAR products.

If over the next 15 years Americans bought only ENERGY STAR products, their electric bills would shrink by more than $100 billion and they would eliminate as much greenhouse gas pollution as is produced by 17 million cars.

Information about ENERGY STAR can be found via the World Wide Web at www.epa.gov/energystar or by calling toll-free 888-STAR-YES.

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