Augusta, ME – January 27, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Maine Treasurer Dave Lemoine joined a group of 43 public and private investors calling upon Congress to include significant funding for energy efficiency, clean energy and clean transportation in the economic stimulus bill being debated this week on Congress. “These are sectors in which Maine already is poised to leap ahead,” said Treasurer Lemoine, “but we can advance even more quickly if the right federal policies are in place.”
In a letter delivered this morning to House and Senate leaders and the Obama administration, U.S. and European investors called for longer-term green economic incentives, including extending the renewable energy Production Tax Credit five or more years; providing substantial funding for energy efficiency programs, such as retrofitting buildings; and modernizing the aging and inefficient electric power grid.
The letter, coordinated by Ceres and the Investor Network on Climate Risk, was signed by some of the world’s largest institutional investors, asset managers and leading state treasurers and controllers. See full list below.
“A forward-looking green-energy economic stimulus package could be good for Maine’s environment, energy security and employment picture,” said Lemoine, “and it would be consistent with the State’s ongoing efforts to expand sustainable opportunities for Maine businesses and workers.
The Signatories of the letter are set forth below:
Signatories PENSION FUNDS, STATE TREASURERS AND STATE/CITY COMPTROLLERS: California Public Employees’ Retirement System, California State Controller, California State Teachers’ Retirement System, California State Treasurer, Connecticut State Treasurer, Florida State Treasury, Illinois State Board of Investment, Illinois State Treasurer, Maine State Treasurer, Maryland State Treasurer, New Jersey Division of Investment, New Jersey State Investment Council, New York City Comptroller, Oregon State Treasurer, Rhode Island State Treasurer, Vermont State Treasurer
ASSET MANAGERS, INVESTOR COALITIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS: Boston Common Asset Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Calvert Group, Deutsche Asset Management, Ethical Funds Company, F & C Asset Management, Generation Investment Management, Green Century Funds, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, Pax World Funds, Portfolio21, Trillium Asset Management, Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, Walden Asset Management, Winslow Management
ENDOWMENTS AND OTHER INSTITUIONAL INVESTORS: American Baptist Home Mission Society, Dominican Sisters of Hope Friends’ Fiduciary Corporation, Mercy Investment Program, Presbyterian Church USA Presentation Sisters, Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit Charitable Trust Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ, Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order The United Methodist Church- General Board of Church & Society Unitarian Universalist Association, Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, U.S. Province
*The letter can be found at www.maine.gov/treasurer
