Environmental Technology

Innovative technologies are needed to clean up the environment and protect it in the future. The combined public and private cleanup effort in the United States alone may cost more than half a trillion dollars during the next 30 years, while the recent summit in Rio de Janeiro underscores the growing global dimensions of the environmental problem. Proposed legislation before Congress--S. 2632--would create an agency to promote the development and commercial application of environmentally safe technologies and to improve the nation's competitiveness in meeting world demand for such technologies. Although the bill highlights the need for innovative environmental technologies, it also raises fundamental questions that Congress may want to consider before committing considerable federal investment in a new agency. For example, what are the research and development needs? What are the needs for transfer of technology? What are the regulatory barriers to more widespread use? In any case, GAO believes that some of the bill's provisions could be clarified to avoid potential problems and help ensure success. Finally, Congress may want to examine the roles of existing government organizations and how they should be integrated to promote the development and deployment of innovative environmental technologies.