Obama Administration FY 2017 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate

This policy brief details the Obama Administration's fiscal year (FY) 2017 federal budget proposal, focusing on investments in clean energy, sustainable transportation, energy-efficient buildings, and climate action. The proposal emphasizes doubling clean energy research and development by 2021 and introduces a crude oil tax to fund transportation sustainability.

• President Obama proposed doubling federal investment in clean energy research and development from $6.4 billion in 2016 to $12.8 billion by 2021, which involves an average annual increase of 15 percent.
• The budget includes a proposed $10.25-per-barrel tax on crude oil intended to generate $319 billion over 10 years. These funds would support an annual $32.4 billion investment in mass transit, clean vehicle research, urban planning, and self-driving car research.
• The Department of Energy (DOE) budget request of $32.5 billion includes a 40 percent increase for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) budget to $2.9 billion. Specific goals include achieving a solar energy price of $0.06/kWh without subsidies by 2020 and offshore wind generation of $0.167/kWh by 2020.
• The administration set specific domestic greenhouse gas emission reduction targets relative to 2005 levels: 17 percent by 2020, 26-28 percent by 2025, and 83 percent by 2050, with a goal of 80 percent of U.S. electricity coming from clean energy by 2035.
• The Department of Transportation (DOT) requested $98.1 billion, including $1.335 billion in mandatory funding for the 21st Century Clean Transportation Plan. This plan allocates $7.5 billion for the Federal Highway Administration, $6.385 billion for the Federal Transit Administration, and $3.7 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested $8.27 billion, which includes $25 million to help states implement the Clean Power Plan and $1.65 billion over 10 years for a Climate Infrastructure Fund to retrofit or replace diesel engines in trucks and buses.
• International climate efforts include a total of $1.3 billion for the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI), with $750 million allocated to the Green Climate Fund. Additionally, the Power Africa program received a budget request of $291 million to provide renewable energy to 60 million households and businesses in Africa.

APA

Alford, A., Cross, J.-M., Haven, P., Small, L., Stolark, J., & Vaughan, E. (2016). Obama Administration FY 2017 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Budget_020916.pdf

Chicago

Alford, Alison, John-Michael Cross, Paul Haven, Laura Small, Jessie Stolark, and Ellen Vaughan. Obama Administration FY 2017 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2016. https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Budget_020916.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alford |first1=Alison |last2=Cross |first2=John-Michael |last3=Haven |first3=Paul |last4=Small |first4=Laura |last5=Stolark |first5=Jessie |last6=Vaughan |first6=Ellen |title=Obama Administration FY 2017 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=February 2016 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Budget_020916.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alford2016obama, author = {Alford, Alison and Cross, John-Michael and Haven, Paul and Small, Laura and Stolark, Jessie and Vaughan, Ellen}, title = {{Obama Administration FY 2017 Budget Proposal: Sustainable Energy, Buildings, Transportation and Climate}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Budget_020916.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }