The Washington Post has reported that the Trump administration has announced plans to scrap the Energy Star program in the USA.
The announcement was made during a meeting of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Atmospheric Protection.
For us here in Blighty or, the rest of Europe for that matter, that’s like saying that all the energy labels would be scrapped overnight. Now, whilst we have issues with the energy labels, outright scrapping them and leaving consumers with no information at all strikes us as, well, a little mental.
We know, there’s confusion with them and all that malarky but really just scrapping what is in essence a pretty good idea with nothing to help guide buyers is, in our opinion, nuts.
It potentially leaves US consumers with no way to know how efficient, or not, what they’re buy-in is, or isn’t other than relying on manufacturer claims and, we all know how trustworthy they are. MPG figures
The US Energy Star has been running since 1992 and was started under the first Bush administration, the first Bush, the older one. So it’s been around for a long time, consumers know it and know it well.
It’s mooted that the scheme has helped US consumers save more than $500 billion in energy costs in the past 33 years, and that the average American saves around $450 a year on energy by choosing appliances that have been Energy Star-certified.
Even if those numbers are a tad on the optimistic side, that’s still a lot. And a lot of energy that’s not being wasted.
The EPA hasn’t said when this will takego into effect or when buyers will stop seeing Energy Star certifications on appliances.
But here’s where things take an interesting twist for those who follow politics, in American law, it’s apparently technically illegal for a presidential administration to end the program without the approval of Congress. Meaning that whether this actually happens or not, who knows.
With the current US administration, that’s seemingly a running theme.
And, even if it does happen, that would seem to suggest it could be reversed either by the courts or, a new administration.
Keeping up with US politics just now isn’t exactly easy and we’re apolitical with the opinion, we just report the news, not make it.
Of course, thankfully this has absolutely no effect on any appliances or spare parts sold in the UK or Europe.
