At the same time, big data technologies raise serious concerns about how we protect personal privacy and our other values. As more data is collected, analyzed, and stored on both public and private systems, we must be vigilant in ensuring the balance of power is retained between government and citizens and between businesses and consumers. And one novel finding of the working group report was the potential for big data technologies to circumvent longstanding civil rights protections and enable new forms of discrimination in housing, employment, and access to credit, among other areas.

Today, we’re releasing an interim progress report detailing the progress we have made — and what we still have ahead. We’re also moving forward with the commitment the President made last month to ensure that student educational data is used only for educational purposes. The Administration has been working with a bipartisan group of legislators, and today Congressman Luke Messer (R-IN) and Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) will announce that they will be introducing legislation to fulfill that promise. In the Senate, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also intends to pursue bipartisan legislation. And the Council of Economic Advisers is releasing a new report on price discrimination in the big-data era, as part of the Administration’s commitment to deeply examine how these new technologies may inadvertently or deliberately lead to discriminatory outcomes, and what policy mechanisms may be needed to respond.

Here’s where we are:

Student Data Privacy Act. Technology is enabling a revolution in education. More information than ever before is at students’ fingertips — worlds of discovery that were unimaginable just a generation ago. New tools, apps, and smart textbooks make it possible to tailor lessons to students’ individual learning styles. Students, teachers, and parents can more easily  track education progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and adjust lesson plans and study habits accordingly. Schools can use data to identify when a student may be on the cusp of educational difficulty and intervene early.

But as technologies proliferate in the classroom, we must be vigilant about ensuring that students’ privacy is protected in the educational context and that their education data is not mined for commercial or marketing purposes. The big data and privacy report offered as one of its six chief recommendations that the government seek to ensure that data collected on students in school is used only for educational purposes, and that students be protected against their data being shared or used inappropriately.

The Administration looks forward to working with Congressional cosponsors to ensure that our kids’ educational data is used only for educational and legitimate research purposes. We are confident that there will be strong bipartisan support to advance this legislation — protecting our kids’ privacy in school while continuing to embrace the innovative educational potential of new technologies to improve student outcomes.

Price Discrimination Report. In response to the big data and privacy report’s finding that these technologies and tools can enable new forms of discrimination, the White House Council of Economic Advisers conducted a study examining whether and how companies may use big data technologies to offer different prices to different consumers — a practice known as “discriminatory pricing.” The CEA found that many companies already use big data for targeted marketing, and others are experimenting in a limited way with personalized pricing, but this practice is not yet widespread. While the economic literature contends that discriminatory pricing will often, though not always, be welfare-enhancing for businesses and consumers, the CEA concludes that policymakers should be vigilant against the potential for discriminatory outcomes, particularly in cases where prices are not transparent and could give rise to fraud or scams.

Additional Progress

The big data and privacy working group report identified six priority policy recommendations and a host of smaller initiatives to further the conversation about big data and privacy inside and outside of the government. We’ve made strong progress on the majority of the working group’s recommendations:

Protecting consumers: Last month, the President released revised legislation providing a single, national standard for companies to notify consumers in the event of data breaches — a major recommendation of the big data report. Over the summer, the Department of Commerce solicited public comments on the implications of big data technologies for the principles of our proposed Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights — and this month, the Administration will release a draft legislative proposal.

Understanding discrimination: In addition to the CEA report being released today, the Administration has launched several efforts to deepen our understanding of how big data technologies could inadvertently or deliberately enable discriminatory outcomes, and to expand technical expertise to prevent those effects. Among other things, the Fiscal Year 2016 budget includes $17 million in investments for big data science pilots at the National Science Foundation that will help deepen our understanding of this fast-changing field of big data as a whole. And the White House will issue a follow-up report this spring exploring the implications of big data technologies for discrimination and civil rights in a discrete set of policy areas, and will further recommendations on how to use big data to broaden access and prevent discrimination. In addition, the Department of Justice has studied the potential implications of using predictive analytics in law enforcement.

Extending privacy protections: Recognizing that privacy is a worldwide value, and should be reflected in how the federal government handles personally identifiable information regarding all persons, the big data and privacy working group recommended that Privacy Act protections be extended to non-U.S. persons to the extent practicable. The Office of Management and Budget is actively working to implement that recommendation. The Administration is also working with Congress on legislation that would extend certain rights of judicial redress to EU citizens.

Conclusion

Beyond the recommendations of the big data and privacy working group, the insights in the report have also had an influence on other Administration policy priorities. In his State of the Union address, President Obama announced an ambitious plan to advance understanding of precision medicine, an emerging field that holds the promise of revolutionizing how we improve health and treat disease. Leveraging advances in genomics, clinical practice, big data technology, and other fields, the Precision Medicine Initiative will seek to create a one-million-strong national research cohort and to accelerate discovery of tailored treatments for cancers. Data security and patient privacy will be paramount to the Precision Medicine Initiative. The effort will incorporate the lessons learned by other federal agencies and the issues identified in the big data and privacy report and solicit input from a diverse range of privacy stakeholders from the earliest days in order to integrate rigorous privacy protections throughout the program.

Big data will continue to contribute to and shape our society, and the Obama Administration will continue working to ensure that government and civil society strive to harness the power of these technologies while protecting privacy and preventing harmful outcomes. 

To read the Big Data and Privacy Interim Progress Report, click here.

To read the Council of Economic Advisers report on discriminatory pricing, click here.

Methane — the primary component of natural gas and the third-largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — is a potent climate pollutant, trapping 25 times as much heat as carbon pollution over the course of a century. The good news is emissions from the oil and gas sector are down 16 percent since 1990. However, without additional action, emissions from this sector are projected to rise more than 25 percent by 2025.

That’s why, today, the Obama administration is announcing an ambitious new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025. Achieving this goal would save up to 180 billion cubic feet of wasted natural gas in 2025 — enough to heat more than 2 million homes for an entire year.

To achieve this goal, we’re announcing a range of actions to tackle methane emissions throughout the oil and gas system. The Environmental Protection Agency will work with industry, states, tribes, and other stakeholders to propose common-sense standards this summer to reduce methane emissions from new and modified oil and gas wells. The Department of Energy will continue to drive technological advancement through new energy efficiency standards for natural gas and air compressors and a proposed $25 million in funding to develop and demonstrate technologies to identify and reduce natural gas leaks. The Department of the Interior will ensure that the federal government is leading by example by updating outdated standards to reduce wasteful venting and flaring of natural gas from wells on public lands.

Oil and gas companies can also choose to become power players in reducing harmful, wasteful methane emissions from existing sources. Voluntary efforts to reduce emissions by the oil and gas industry could realize significant reductions in a quick, flexible, cost-effective way. The Obama administration stands ready to work with companies, individually and through broader initiatives such as the One Future Initiative and the Downstream Initiative, to develop and verify robust commitments to reduce methane emissions throughout the oil and gas system. 

Farmers across the country have already realized the economic and energy benefits of voluntarily programs to reduce methane emissions. Just last summer, the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Energy released a Biogas Opportunities Roadmap highlighting voluntary actions taken in partnership with the dairy industry — using biodigesters to capture and use methane emissions from agricultural waste.

Today’s actions on methane emissions are an important step to take on climate change, putting us on track to achieve President Obama’s goal of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. The impacts of climate change are already being felt in every sector of the economy — and for every decade of delay in reducing greenhouse gas pollution, the costs of climate change are projected to increase by 40 percent. Taking on this global challenge will take an all-hands-on-deck effort from government, industry, and communities across the country — and we’re committed to continuing America’s historic progress and leadership in tackling climate change.

You should also see:

• President Obama's plan to fight climate change
• The U.S.-China joint announcement on our actions to reduce carbon pollution
• The President's remarks at the 2014 U.N. Climate Summit
• President Obama's science advisor answers your questions about climate change

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and John Podesta, Counselor to the President, announce with NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney the Administration's partnership with NASCAR, tire manufactures and retailers to raise awareness of tire safety and actions to cut carbon pollution and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, in front of the West Wing of the White House, Dec. 9, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

When NASCAR drivers take a corner at top speed, they — and their tires — experience G-forces that are just about equivalent to what astronauts feel as they’re being launched into space.

So NASCAR knows a thing or two about tire performance and safety. And that’s why NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney joined Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and me at the White House today to talk about proper tire maintenance — and he brought along his #22 Mustang and the #18 “M&Ms” car to really drive the point home.

Making our cars and trucks go farther on less fuel has been a key component of President Obama’s plans to combat climate change. In the President’s first term, the Administration issued historic fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks that will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the pump and reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels over the lifetime of the program. We also issued the first-ever efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles, like school buses and tractor-trailer trucks, which will cut carbon pollution by some 270 million metric tons and $50 billion through model year 2018. This February, the President announced that the Department of Transportation will be updating and refining those heavy-duty vehicle standards for future model years.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and John Podesta, Counselor to the President, announce with NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney the Administration's partnership with NASCAR, tire manufactures and retailers to raise awareness of tire safety and actions to cut carbon pollution and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, in front of the West Wing of the White House, Dec. 9, 2014.

But improperly inflated and low-efficiency tires can drag down even the most fuel-efficient car out there — and poor tire maintenance is a serious safety concern. That’s why today the Obama administration is announcing a new collaboration with companies like Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental Tire, ExxonMobil, and BP to launch Tire Safety Awareness Month, to educate consumers about common-sense ways to save money, increase efficiency, and protect drivers through improved tire maintenance. NASCAR is further committing to launch a Drive for Safety initiative during next year’s racing season.

View our infographic about the benefits of keeping your tires in good condition.

All of these efforts will be further supported by Secretary Foxx’s announcement of a schedule for new DOT standards establishing a tire fuel efficiency consumer information program. With support from the tire industry, this “labeling rule” will help consumers identify the most energy-efficient tires.

We need every level of government and every sector of the economy to use less dirty energy, more clean energy, and less energy overall. NASCAR has been a leader across the board — from using lower-carbon ethanol-blended fuels in their cars to installing solar panels at racetracks across the country to moving their Daytona Beach headquarters to a LEED-certified building.

That’s what it looks like when American institutions act to build a clean energy future.

To read more about how we’re working to increase tire safety and efficiency, check out our fact sheet here.

And as they face these immediate climate crises, cities, towns, counties, and tribes of every size and in every region of the country have stepped up to be part of the solution: identifying their vulnerabilities, cutting carbon pollution, creating jobs by investing in clean energy and energy efficiency, and finding innovative solutions to make their communities and infrastructure more resilient to climate extremes.

Today, in recognition of their strong commitment to the fight against climate change, the Obama administration is naming 16 of these communities as the first class of Climate Action Champions.

Click here for the full list of Climate Action Champions.

This diverse set of winning communities have already accomplished a great deal. Dubuque, IA has already adopted targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent below 2003 levels by 2030. Recognizing that sea level rise poses serious risks for infrastructure along its coasts, Boston, MA has already integrated climate resilience into their approval process for new construction projects. The Blue Lake Rancheria tribe in California has reduced energy consumption by 35 percent since 2008.

And as Climate Action Champions, they’ll be able to do even more. The selected communities will benefit from facilitated peer-to-peer learning opportunities and targeted support from a range of federal programs, including technical assistance from renewable energy experts, accessible climate data and tools, and opportunities for tailored emergency preparedness exercises.

One of the key requests the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience made when they delivered their report to the President last month was for more assistance navigating resources and funding opportunities across the breadth of the federal government. That’s why each Climate Action Champion will be assigned a federal coordinator to help identify technical assistance, additional resources, and opportunities to work with agency programs, philanthropies, and the private sector to achieve the community’s climate goals.

As other communities across the United States and around the world look to grow more sustainable local economies, to use cleaner energy sources, and to build resilience to extreme climate events, the Climate Action Champions will demonstrate what ambitious local leaders can achieve in the face of a global challenge.

Read the White House fact sheet on the winning Climate Action Champions here.

Not only does PG&E’s plug-in hybrid utility vehicle run cleaner, it provides up to 120 kW of exportable power — meaning that the trucks can actually be used to shorten or end power outages by plugging their reserves into the grid.

This is the kind of innovation we need to take action on climate change — reducing emissions on the one hand and finding creative ways to boost community resilience on the other.

Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, and Tony Earley, chairman and CEO of PG&E, joined us at the White House for the event.

PG&E isn’t the only utility company looking to lead on climate. Yesterday, more than 70 electric utility companies announced that they will devote at least 5 percent of their annual fleet budgets to purchasing plug-in electric vehicles — a total commitment of more than $50 million per year. Dozens more businesses, government agencies, schools, and non-profits also committed to install workplace charging stations for their employees.

In 2012, President Obama launched the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, with the goal of making the United States the country to produce plug-in electric vehicles that are as affordable for the average American family as gasoline-powered vehicles. Since 2009, the cost of battery technology has already come down by more than 60 percent. Yesterday’s commitments will create even more demand for plug-in electric vehicles and bring the United States closer to meeting the President’s challenge.

The federal government is doing its part, too. The Department of Energy yesterday announced that they would work to support aggregated purchases of EVs and other advanced technology vehicles, maximizing customers’ buying power and increasing certainty for manufacturers. And we’ve substantially increased the number of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in the federal fleet, reducing carbon pollution and cutting fuel costs at the same time.

Taking action on climate change means working at all levels of government and across all sectors of the economy to reduce emissions, develop more clean energy, boost efficiency, and build resilience in American communities. The announcements made yesterday by American utility companies to buy more electric vehicles for their fleets show a real commitment to climate action — and to American innovation.

PG&E’s truck works great, by the way. I took a spin in the cherry-picker to see for myself:

White House Senior Advisor John Podesta operates the bucket on the new hybrid hydraulic lift power trucks on West Executive Dr. just outside the West Wing of the White House, Nov. 18, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

Local communities are on the front lines of the climate challenge — and are among the most ambitious in searching for solutions. From deploying more clean energy and setting energy efficiency goals to building more green infrastructure and revising building codes, many cities, towns, and tribal communities have emerged as leaders in the fight against climate change. 

Today, the Obama administration is launching the first round of the Climate Action Champions Competition, to recognize and support the path-breaking steps that local and tribal governments are already taking to reduce carbon pollution and prepare for the impacts of climate change. This new competition, administered by the Department of Energy, will identify 10-15 communities across the country that have proven themselves to be climate leaders by pursuing ambitious climate action on both tracks — reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience.

In addition to earning the Climate Action Champions designation, the selected communities will benefit from facilitated peer-to-peer learning and mentorship and targeted support and technical assistance from a range of federal programs. They will also become part of a broader network of efforts to address and prepare for climate change. The Climate Action Champions Competition builds on the momentum of ongoing place-based initiatives, such as the multi-agency Partnership for Sustainable Communities and independent efforts such as the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities.

Depending on the needs of the communities selected as Champions, competition winners may receive tailored climate data and tools; technical assistance to facilitate climate-smart community planning; access to extreme-weather preparedness exercises run by the Federal Emergency Management Administration; and assistance in accelerating solar energy deployment through DOE, among other benefits. All Champion communities will also be assigned a coordinator to help identify financial and technical assistance opportunities for their preferred climate strategies.

The Climate Action Champions Competition will bolster the efforts of leading communities so that together we can define the frontier of ambitious climate action and identify possible gaps in our current policies and technological solutions. The winners will be recognized for a broad range of efforts to cut carbon pollution or strengthen climate resilience, but the competition will focus in particular on actions that further both of these goals. For instance, installing rooftop solar panels on hospitals can both reduce emissions and function as a backup power source during blackouts. By emphasizing dual-purpose investments, this competition will encourage communities to think more strategically and comprehensively after how to best leverage investments in climate change.

While this first round of the Competition seeks to select a diverse set of communities that are already leaders in addressing and preparing for climate change, the next round will look for communities that have demonstrated substantial commitment and motivation to take on the climate challenge, but may have lacked sufficient resources to make ambitious investments. The pioneering Champions will mentor and share lessons learned with the communities selected in the second round, helping them to leapfrog over some common implementation challenges and creating a model for future Champions to follow.

“We have to raise our collective ambition,” President Obama told world leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit last week, “each of us doing what we can to confront this global challenge.” Through the Climate Action Champions Competition, the Obama administration will help forward-looking local and tribal communities do just that.

Find out more about the selection criteria and apply to be a Climate Action Champion here. (see "DE-FOA-0001189: Climate Action Champions: Request for Applications”)

Read the White House fact sheet on the Climate Action Champions Competition here.

Today, leaders from more than 120 countries gathered in New York. On the agenda: a challenge that knows no borders, produces devastating local impacts, and requires global action.

President Obama joined the international community at the UN Secretary General's Climate Summit because he believes that we have a moral obligation to our children and to future generations to take decisive action now -- to reduce the carbon pollution and other greenhouse gas emissions warming the planet, and to build resilience to the climate impacts already being felt in communities across the country and around the world.

We are the first generation to experience first-hand the chaos that climate scientists have long warned was coming. In recent years, we have been battered by more frequent and severe storms, become inundated by rising seas and storm surge, parched by deeper drought, and burned by fiercer wildfires. From the world's poorest villages to the tiniest seaside communities, climate change poses a real and dangerous threat.

That's why the Obama Administration has sought to produce actionable climate science for the United States through the National Climate Assessment and has galvanized entrepreneurs and researchers to develop innovative climate planning tools through the Climate Data Initiative. And that's why, at today's UN Climate Summit, President Obama announced that he will marshal the United States' unparalleled research and technological capabilities to help developing countries understand the scope of the climate challenge and build climate resilience through a set of new global public goods.

The President committed to releasing global elevation data at a higher resolution than is currently freely and publicly available. Today's declassification and release of 30-meter elevation data for the African continent is a vast improvement over the previous free, open data set, which resolved to 90 meters. This data will enable aid organizations, development banks, and decision-makers in developing countries to better map and plan for climate-driven challenges like sea level rise in coastal regions and glacial melting in mountain ranges.

Our science agencies will work to develop extreme-weather risk outlooks extending beyond the two-week time horizon of weather forecasts, to provide early indication that severe weather may be on its way and help save lives around the world. NOAA will seek to expand a successful program that has already trained more than 300 meteorologists from developing countries in critical aspects of climate prediction, monitoring, and assessment.

And the United States is going to continue to lead by example through a new executive order directing our international development agencies to factor climate resilience into their research, planning, and investment decisions--from malaria eradication programs to hospital construction to seed purchases. We're joining the new Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, which seeks to preserve food security despite a changing climate. And the President today announced his intention to create a new public-private partnership to ensure climate data and tools are useful to, and used by, decision-makers in developing countries.

But we know that without curbing the carbon pollution that is fueling global warming, the best data and tools we can imagine can only do so much to address the catastrophic impacts of climate change. Under President Obama's Climate Action Plan, the United States has claimed that mantle of leadership on this global challenge by putting America on the right path to achieve our 2009 Copenhagen pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The President's plan will cut carbon pollution from existing power plants by 30 percent, thanks to a proposal set out by the Environmental Protection Agency this June. Partnerships between government and the private sector will deploy more clean energy, boost energy efficiency in more than 1 billion square feet of buildings, and phase down emissions of potent greenhouse gases known as HFCs -- super-pollutants with up to 10,000 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide -- by the equivalent of 700 million metric tons of CO2 by 2025.

All told, the Obama Administration's actions since releasing the Climate Action Plan will cut nearly 3 billion tons of carbon pollution between 2020 and 2025, enable the development of more wind, solar, and geothermal energy, and save consumers more than $70 billion on their energy bills by 2030 -- all through executive action.

Today's Summit is an important step in our fight against climate change -- and we're not stopping now. We're going to do more, at home and in international negotiations, to tackle this challenge. The United States remains committed to working through the UN process to forge a strong international framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions. And President Obama will continue using his pen and his phone to cut carbon pollution, to partner with the private sector, to deploy more clean energy, and to strengthen American communities threatened by climate impacts -- because we can't afford to wait for the climate denier caucus to take action.

We're the first generation to witness the real devastation of climate change. We may be the last generation capable of curbing it. For the sake of our children, our country, and the global community, the United States will continue to use every tool available to us to tackle this challenge.

Learn more:

• Learn about climate change and President Obama's action plan

HFCs, used primarily in air conditioning and refrigeration, are greenhouse gases with up to 10,000 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Unless we act, U.S. emissions of these potent greenhouse gases would nearly double by 2020 and triple by 2030.

Announced today, U.S. industries are leading the way in helping fulfill the President’s pledge by investing billions of dollars to develop and deploy the next generation of safe, cost-effective alternatives to HFCs, and by incorporating these climate-friendly technologies into the cars, air conditioners, refrigerators, foams and other products they manufacture and use.

Across the entire HFC supply chain, from production to manufacturing to retail, American businesses large and small are committing to phase down HFCs and accelerate the uptake of climate-friendly alternatives. For example, industry groups are pledging to support policies to reduce global HFC emissions, to increase research and development spending, and to develop and commercialize HFC alternatives. Chemical companies are pledging to phase down the manufacturing of HFCs and to accelerate production of HFC alternatives. Beverage companies and retailers are pledging to buy HFC-free equipment. For a full list of companies and commitments, please check out our fact sheet.

The Obama Administration is also announcing new federal actions to increase the uptake of safer alternatives to HFCs and encourage the development of new technologies by:

• Promoting HFC alternatives within the federal government, including by updating regulations for contractors and evaluating more sustainable options in federal buildings.
• Encouraging private sector investment in low-emissions technology, including expanding the list of climate-friendly HFC alternatives and organizing sector-specific workshops.
• New research and development funding from the Department of Energy, to encourage next generation, climate- and ozone-friendly cooling and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

Moreover, earlier this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed two new rules under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program that would smooth the transition to climate-friendly alternatives to HFCs, including expanding the list of acceptable alternatives and limiting the use of some of the most harmful HFCs where alternatives are available.

All of these actions add to the gathering momentum toward an amendment to the Montreal Protocol, the landmark international agreement signed 27 years ago today to phase out the use of chemicals harmful to the ozone layer, to tackle HFCs on a global scale. Recent studies show the hole in the ozone layer is closing, and reinforce the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol to phase down harmful pollutants. Importantly, the U.S. and China have already agreed to work together to phase down the consumption and production of HFCs, and G-20 leaders followed suit by expressing their own support for similar measures.  And just yesterday, former Indian Minister of Environment Jairam Ramesh called for his country to join a global effort to phase down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol.

The leadership demonstrated today by U.S. industries and the federal government taking on HFCs is welcome news for the planet and will help prompt other countries and companies to take action on climate change.

John Podesta is Counselor to the President.

You should also read: 

• President Obama's action plan on climate change
• It only takes three minutes to see why we must act on climate change
• A behind-the-scenes look at the solar panels on the White House roof
• How limiting carbon emissions from nuclear plants will make us healthier

As a result, Africa today is a continent of opportunity. Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies are on the African continent, driven by a rising middle class and a generation of optimistic young people. By 2035, the continent will have a working-age population bigger than that of China or India.

This is the time for the United States and African leaders to look beyond the crises of the moment to the opportunities the next 10 to 15 years have in store — which is why the theme of this week’s Leaders Summit is “Investing in the Next Generation.”

A key part of that agenda hinges on helping African nations develop sustainable economies whose future growth is not constrained by the threat of climate change and environmental degradation. That’s why the Leaders Summit highlights the ways that the United States and Africa are partnering to address both the drivers and impacts of climate change.

Last year, President Obama launched Power Africa, an innovative public-private initiative to expand access to renewable and low-carbon electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 600 million people currently lack access to modern energy sources. Power Africa is helping drive a clean energy revolution that takes advantage of Africa’s abundant wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower resources. To harness this potential, the United States is working with African entrepreneurs to catalyze private investment. The U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance initiative (ACEF), launched in 2012, has supported more than 25 clean energy projects across Africa and is on track to leverage up to $1 billion in public and private financing for projects that would not otherwise have reached financial close. 

Today, the President announced a renewed commitment to Power Africa, pledging $300 million in assistance per year to reach a new, aggregate goal of 30,000 MW of electricity. And the private sector is stepping up, too. The President today also announced private sector commitments of more than $20 billion, including new investments in the Beyond the Grid program, which brings off-grid and small-scale energy solutions to rural communities.

The United States and African leaders also share a mutual commitment to strengthening the continent’s resilience to the impacts of climate change, which is particularly important for agricultural societies to maintain food security. African Union leaders agreed in the Malabo Declaration to accelerate agricultural growth to end poverty, improve conservation of fisheries and aquaculture, reduce vulnerability to climate and weather risk, and mainstream resilience.

The United States has already pledged to join the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture, launching this fall, and supports investments in climate resilience and environmental sustainability, from combating deforestation to providing climate information services, in countries across Africa. Earlier this year, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum taking steps to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing and the Senate ratified the Port State Measures Agreement, both of which will ultimately help West African countries that are among those hardest-hit economically and environmentally by pirate fishing activities. And by partnering with private and philanthropic partners, we’re going to do more.

That’s why yesterday USAID and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a $100 million Global Resilience Partnership to invest in climate preparedness, adaptation, and inclusive economic growth. In Africa, the Global Resilience Partnership will build on existing efforts in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa to improve drought cycle management and expand climate-resilient agricultural practices, helping communities build economic and environmental resilience and break the cycle of recurrent crises.

And at today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum, private-sector companies announced an additional $7 billion in commitments to promote agricultural development in Africa as part of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. This two-year-old effort brings socially responsible private investment to the African agricultural sector, creates good jobs, and encourages countries to enact sustainable agriculture reforms.

Climate change poses serious challenges for Africa, as it does for regions around the world, from extreme weather to sea level rise to drought. But building resilience to climate impacts and expanding clean energy resources will create opportunities for entrepreneurs, innovators, and young people across Africa — and help the continent continue its progress toward building sustainable, dynamic economies for decades to come. 

Learn more:

• Learn more on the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit page
• FACT SHEET: Powering Africa: Increasing Access to Power in Sub-Saharan Africa
• FACT SHEET: U.S. Engagement on Climate Change and Resilience in Africa
• FACT SHEET: U.S.-African Cooperation on Food Security

President Obama launched Power Africa nearly one year ago to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa – electricity needed for students to succeed, businesses to thrive, and African economies to grow. The challenge is greatest beyond the electric grid serving dense urban populations. More than 240 million people live without electricity in rural and peri-urban communities across the six Power Africa focus countries. Too many do not even show up on government plans to expand the grid over the next decade.

But, bolstered by the falling cost of renewable energy generation; rapid advances in energy storage, smart meter, and  mobile payment technologies; and innovative business models, new distributed energy companies are now delivering clean, reliable energy in Africa at a competitive price point. While the market is still young, it holds great promise to follow the mobile phone in leapfrogging centralized infrastructure across Africa. 

Beyond the Grid will double down on Power Africa’s support for this potentially game-changing sector, building on more than 25 small-scale energy projects already in the Power Africa pipeline. Beyond the Grid’s 27 founding partners – including impact investors, venture philanthropists, clean-energy enterprises, and practitioners – have committed to invest over $1 billion over the next five years to seed and scale distributed energy solutions for millions of African homes, businesses, schools, and other public facilities.

Examples of commitments to date include:

• Acumen commits to invest up to $10 million in 5-10 enterprises serving off-grid markets in multiple Power Africa countries.
• Capricorn Investment Group commits to invest in companies providing solar power, hybrid power systems, mini-grid installations, energy storage systems, and mini-hydro power systems, expanding from Tanzania and Nigeria to two additional Power Africa countries.
• Gray Ghost Ventures commits to raise $50 million for early-stage equity investments, to build on current investments including in Beyond the Grid partner d.light, which independently commits to deliver solar-powered lighting and energy products to more than 100 million Africans over the next five years.
• Khosla Impact commits to build on equity investments in Beyond the Grid partners BBOXX and SunFunder with investment, strategic assistance, and connections for two-three additional businesses that expand the access and affordability of solar products for African consumers; catalyze at least $10 million in debt from co-investors; and take investee companies to profitable scale within five years.
• Mosaic commits to crowdsource $125 million in debt for small-scale energy service providers in Power Africa countries over the next five years, delivering power to 10 million users and a financial return to investors.
• Schneider Electric commits to train 1,000 Africans in energy-related trades every year. Building on the Schneider Electric Energy Access fund – which included an investment in Beyond the Grid partner Fenix International – Schneider Electric also aims to raise up to $80 million for a new impact investment fund dedicated to off-grid energy SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years.
• Solar Sister commits to expand its last mile distribution network of women entrepreneurs with successful clean energy micro-businesses in order to provide energy access to over 400,000 African households over the next five years.

Leveraging the full tools and resources of the 12 Power Africa agencies, Beyond the Grid will take steps identified by the initiative’s partners and other experts as most critical to unlock further investment and growth in the off-grid energy sector. Beyond the Grid will strengthen the enabling environment and foster the clear, predictable rules needed for investment and operations. It will also catalyze private-sector investment through pre-investment technical assistance, risk mitigation, and new financial tools that strategically blend donor and private capital as well as aggregate small energy projects for investment at scale.

You can learn more about all 27 Beyond the Grid founding partners here.

Acumen
Bamboo Finance
BBOXX
Capricorn Investment Group
CrossBoundary 
d.light
Embark Energy
Energiya Global
Fenix International
Global Off-Grid Lighting Association
Gray Ghost Ventures
Invested Development 
Khosla Impact
LGT Venture Philanthropy
Liberia Energy Network 
Low Carbon Enterprise Fund
Mosaic
Off Grid Electric
Persistent Energy Partners
Powerhive  
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On America’s path toward a clean energy future, solar power is an increasingly important building block.

That's why we installed solar panels on the roof of the White House – it’s a clear sign of our commitment to energy efficiency.

Go behind the scenes with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and other experts, and take a closer look at the solar panels on the White House roof:

Watch on YouTube

But it's not just the White House that's going solar.

Earlier today, President Obama announced that more than 300 organizations in the public and private sector have made commitments to advance the deployment of solar power and invest in energy efficiency.

These new commitments mean thousands of homes will go solar in the next few years, and electricity bills will be lower for more than 1 billion square feet of buildings.

Simply put, solar panels mean less carbon pollution, and more jobs for Americans – jobs that can't be outsourced. They're good for our energy future, and they're good for our economy.

Last year, jobs in the solar industry increased by 20 percent. And a new American home or business goes solar every four minutes.

Find out more about this outstanding solar progress, and how it’s leading to a cleaner future and a healthier environment.

Thanks, and stay tuned.

Learn more:

• FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces Commitments and Executive Actions to Advance Solar Deployment and Energy Efficiency
• Progress Report: Advancing Toward a Clean Energy Future
• President Obama's Plan to Fight Climate Change

Drawing on open government data sources, including Census demographics and NOAA weather data, along with their own demographic databases, Esri, a geospatial technology company, has created a real-time map showing where the twisters have been spotted and how the storm systems are moving. They have also used these data to show how many people live in the affected area, and summarize potential impacts from the storms. It's a powerful tool for emergency services and communities. And it's driven by big data technology.

In January, President Obama asked me to lead a wide-ranging review of "big data" and privacy—to explore how these technologies are changing our economy, our government, and our society, and to consider their implications for our personal privacy. Together with Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, the President's Science Advisor John Holdren, the President's Economic Advisor Jeff Zients, and other senior officials, our review sought to understand what is genuinely new and different about big data and to consider how best to encourage the potential of these technologies while minimizing risks to privacy and core American values.

Over the course of 90 days, we met with academic researchers and privacy advocates, with regulators and the technology industry, with advertisers and civil rights groups. The President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology conducted a parallel study of the technological trends underpinning big data. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy jointly organized three university conferences at MIT, NYU, and U.C. Berkeley. We issued a formal Request for Information seeking public comment, and hosted a survey to generate even more public input.

Today, we presented our findings to the President. We knew better than to try to answer every question about big data in three months. But we are able to draw important conclusions and make concrete recommendations for Administration attention and policy development in a few key areas.

There are a few technological trends that bear drawing out. The declining cost of collection, storage, and processing of data, combined with new sources of data like sensors, cameras, and geospatial technologies, mean that we live in a world of near-ubiquitous data collection. All this data is being crunched at a speed that is increasingly approaching real-time, meaning that big data algorithms could soon have immediate effects on decisions being made about our lives.

The big data revolution presents incredible opportunities in virtually every sector of the economy and every corner of society.

Big data is saving lives. Infections are dangerous—even deadly—for many babies born prematurely. By collecting and analyzing millions of data points from a NICU, one study was able to identify factors, like slight increases in body temperature and heart rate, that serve as early warning signs an infection may be taking root—subtle changes that even the most experienced doctors wouldn't have noticed on their own.

Big data is making the economy work better. Jet engines and delivery trucks now come outfitted with sensors that continuously monitor hundreds of data points and send automatic alerts when maintenance is needed. Utility companies are starting to use big data to predict periods of peak electric demand, adjusting the grid to be more efficient and potentially averting brown-outs.

Big data is making government work better and saving taxpayer dollars. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have begun using predictive analytics—a big data technique—to flag likely instances of reimbursement fraud before claims are paid. The Fraud Prevention System helps identify the highest-risk health care providers for waste, fraud, and abuse in real time and has already stopped, prevented, or identified $115 million in fraudulent payments.

But big data raises serious questions, too, about how we protect our privacy and other values in a world where data collection is increasingly ubiquitous and where analysis is conducted at speeds approaching real time. In particular, our review raised the question of whether the "notice and consent" framework, in which a user grants permission for a service to collect and use information about them, still allows us to meaningfully control our privacy as data about us is increasingly used and reused in ways that could not have been anticipated when it was collected.

Big data raises other concerns, as well. One significant finding of our review was the potential for big data analytics to lead to discriminatory outcomes and to circumvent longstanding civil rights protections in housing, employment, credit, and the consumer marketplace.

No matter how quickly technology advances, it remains within our power to ensure that we both encourage innovation and protect our values through law, policy, and the practices we encourage in the public and private sector. To that end, we make six actionable policy recommendations in our report to the President:

Advance the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. Consumers deserve clear, understandable, reasonable standards for how their personal information is used in the big data era. We recommend the Department of Commerce take appropriate consultative steps to seek stakeholder and public comment on what changes, if any, are needed to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, first proposed by the President in 2012, and to prepare draft legislative text for consideration by stakeholders and submission by the President to Congress.

Pass National Data Breach Legislation. Big data technologies make it possible to store significantly more data, and further derive intimate insights into a person's character, habits, preferences, and activities. That makes the potential impacts of data breaches at businesses or other organizations even more serious. A patchwork of state laws currently governs requirements for reporting data breaches. Congress should pass legislation that provides for a single national data breach standard, along the lines of the Administration's 2011 Cybersecurity legislative proposal.

Extend Privacy Protections to non-U.S. Persons. Privacy is a worldwide value that should be reflected in how the federal government handles personally identifiable information about non-U.S. citizens. The Office of Management and Budget should work with departments and agencies to apply the Privacy Act of 1974 to non-U.S. persons where practicable, or to establish alternative privacy policies that apply appropriate and meaningful protections to personal information regardless of a person's nationality.

Ensure Data Collected on Students in School is used for Educational Purposes. Big data and other technological innovations, including new online course platforms that provide students real time feedback, promise to transform education by personalizing learning. At the same time, the federal government must ensure educational data linked to individual students gathered in school is used for educational purposes, and protect students against their data being shared or used inappropriately.

Expand Technical Expertise to Stop Discrimination. The detailed personal profiles held about many consumers, combined with automated, algorithm-driven decision-making, could lead—intentionally or inadvertently—to discriminatory outcomes, or what some are already calling "digital redlining." The federal government's lead civil rights and consumer protection agencies should expand their technical expertise to be able to identify practices and outcomes facilitated by big data analytics that have a discriminatory impact on protected classes, and develop a plan for investigating and resolving violations of law.

Amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The laws that govern protections afforded to our communications were written before email, the internet, and cloud computing came into wide use. Congress should amend ECPA to ensure the standard of protection for online, digital content is consistent with that afforded in the physical world—including by removing archaic distinctions between email left unread or over a certain age.

We also identify several broader areas ripe for further study, debate, and public engagement that, collectively, we hope will spark a national conversation about how to harness big data for the public good. We conclude that we must find a way to preserve our privacy values in both the domestic and international marketplace. We urgently need to build capacity in the federal government to identify and prevent new modes of discrimination that could be enabled by big data. We must ensure that law enforcement agencies using big data technologies do so responsibly, and that our fundamental privacy rights remain protected. Finally, we recognize that data is a valuable public resource, and call for continuing the Administration's efforts to open more government data sources and make investments in research and technology.

While big data presents new challenges, it also presents immense opportunities to improve lives, the United States is perhaps better suited to lead this conversation than any other nation on earth. Our innovative spirit, technological know-how, and deep commitment to values of privacy, fairness, non-discrimination, and self-determination will help us harness the benefits of the big data revolution and encourage the free flow of information while working with our international partners to protect personal privacy. This review is but one piece of that effort, and we hope it spurs a conversation about big data across the country and around the world.

Read the Big Data Report.

See the fact sheet from today's announcement.

John Podesta meets Pope John Paul II on June 2, 1994 when Mr. Podesta served as Staff Secretary to President Clinton, during the first of his two presidential visits to Vatican City.

I am writing from Rome, where Congressman Xavier Becerra, the President’s Director of Legislative Affairs Katie Beirne Fallon, and I had the honor of serving as the Presidential Delegation to the Holy See. Yesterday, we, along with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Kenneth Hackett and his wife Joan, attended the historic canonization Mass for Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. 

In different ways, John XXIII and John Paul II defined what it meant to be Catholic in the 20th century. Their influence and their example as men of humility, compassion, service, and faith provide profound lessons to people around the world. 

Pope John XXIII took leadership of the Church around the time I took my First Communion, at St. Edward’s Parish on the Northwest Side of Chicago. Seventy-six years old when he was elected, there were few who imagined the former Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as a revolutionary. But the man we know today as il Papa buono, the Good Pope, was not content to let the Church go on as it always had. 

By convening the Second Vatican Council, Pope John XXIII built a radically more inclusive Catholic Church, and he himself became a symbol of change and of the power of faith. John spoke to the faithful in simple terms, and addressed his last encyclical, Pacem in Terris — Peace on Earth — to “all men of good will.” The Second Vatican Council drove profound changes in the practice of the Catholic faith. Because of Pope John XXIII, the Mass is celebrated in vernacular languages, rather than in inaccessible Latin. Because of Pope John XXIII, the priest faces his congregation during services. These aren’t cosmetic changes. They go to the heart of how millions of people practice their faith, and profoundly impact how they feel about their lives.

Where Pope John XXIII brought the laity deeper into the heart of the Church, Pope John Paul II helped bring the Church to the world.  During his long papacy, John Paul visited 129 countries and touched the hearts of millions, and particularly inspired and deepened the faith of young people around the world. From his fight against Communism to his outspoken opposition to apartheid to condemning the Rwandan genocide, Pope John Paul II was a courageous and outspoken leader. 

As a Catholic, and as an American, it has been a deeply humbling experience to be in Rome for the canonization Mass. It was an amazing, breathtaking moment to be 100 feet from Pope Francis as he embraced Pope Benedict at the beginning of the Mass. It seems appropriate, upon reflection, that it was Pope Francis who canonized both John and John Paul. As the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, Pope Francis has inspired people around the world with his inclusiveness, his conviction, and his deep and profound care for the neediest among us. As the first Jesuit Pope, he is truly a man for others. I had the honor of being received by the Pope, shaking his hand, exchanging a few words and basking in his broad smile. It is a memory I will forever carry deep in my heart.

Forty-five years ago, an oil well being drilled off the coast of Santa Barbara, California blew out. At the time, it was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Forty-five years ago, too, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire—again. Cities from New York to Philadelphia to Los Angeles were regularly blanketed in harmful smog.

One year later, inspired by the bipartisan efforts of Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson and Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey, 20 million Americans took part in the first Earth Day demonstrations. Across the country, people gathered in the streets, in parks, and on college campuses to call for air, water, and wildlife protections. The strength of Americans’ convictions led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. As a result, our air is safer to breathe, our water is safer to drink, and more of our natural resources are protected for future generations.

Earth Day is as important now as it was then. Our health, our economy, our security, and our planet’s future are once again threatened by pollution and environmental degradation.

Our climate is changing, and that change is being driven by human activity. Every year, the United States pumps millions of tons of carbon dioxide pollution and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reinforced that these emissions will have devastating effects on our planet, from higher average global temperatures to sea level rise to more severe weather.

That’s why last year President Obama announced the Climate Action Plan, an ambitious strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to better prepare our communities for the impacts of climate change we can’t avoid, and to lead on the international stage in addressing this global challenge. 

On this Earth Day, Administration officials will be joining Americans around the country to talk about our environmental and climate challenges. Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will be at the New England Aquarium talking about what climate change will mean for Boston Harbor. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is at Drake University in Des Moines, discussing how climate change is going to impact our farms and our food supply.

And because Earth Day is about taking action, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Mike Boots, the Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, are announcing the names of schools across the country that have done the most to reduce their environmental impact. These Green Ribbon Schools are leaders in promoting energy efficiency and in educating their students and their communities about climate change and the environment.

We must all do our part to confront the dangers of climate change and to forge a healthier, greener, better world for our children—not just on Earth Day, but every day. 

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosts a roundtable meeting with defense ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2, 2014. (DoD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

As this week’s report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reminds us, combating climate change requires more than cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We must also prepare for the impacts that we can’t avoid, and the United States must continue to help our allies and partners do the same. That’s what American leadership is about.

That leadership is on display this week in Hawaii, where Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is hosting the 10 defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for a first-of-its-kind gathering on U.S. soil. One of the goals of this meeting is to identify how our militaries can work together more effectively to tackle non-traditional security challenges, including climate change and natural disasters.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel hosts a roundtable meeting with defense ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2, 2014. (DoD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

As Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines showed last fall, natural disasters pose a growing threat to regional stability, security, and prosperity, and put countless lives and resources at risk. Even though we can’t attribute any one storm to climate change, as the President has said, we know that “in a world that’s warmer than it used to be, all weather events are affected by a warming planet.”

Climate change is not just an environmental problem; it’s an economic and security problem as well. The United States military is unmatched in its humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities, and Southeast Asia is one of the regions expected to face some of the worst effects of climate change — including floods, famines, and sea level rise. The Department of Defense expects the frequency, scale, and complexity of future humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions in the region to increase in the future.

The Asia-Pacific region is a critical part of the global economy, but its continued security and prosperity will be challenged by the impacts of climate change. This isn’t a challenge that any nation can handle on its own. As the Defense Department’s 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review makes clear, climate change “creates both a need and an opportunity for nations to work together.” Forging strong partnerships among military and civilian agencies is a key part of preparing for the impacts of climate change. That’s why Secretary Hagel and military leaders are working to bolster the capabilities of our allies and partners in these areas.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel tours the USS Anchorage LPD-23 along with defense ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 2, 2014. (DoD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

In addition to touring some of our latest capabilities deployed to the Pacific — such as the Navy’s newest amphibious transport ship, the U.S.S. Anchorage — Secretary Hagel and the ASEAN defense ministers will visit NOAA’s Inouye Regional Center with NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, and will receive briefings on tsunami warning, threat, and detection. USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah will also lead a roundtable discussion exploring new ways we can better work together to enhance humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

During the Obama Administration, DoD has focused on adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. DoD invests in energy efficiency, new technologies, and renewable energy sources at its installations because it helps service members carry out their mission. And these efforts are achieving real-world results.

In 2012, energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements like tactical solar gear at combat outposts in Afghanistan saved roughly 20 million gallons of fuel — taking 7,000 truckloads worth of fuel off the battlefield. By 2025, private-sector investments on DoD installations will be generating 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy. That's enough to power 750,000 homes — 50 percent more power than the Hoover Dam. And because DoD knows that climate change is already underway, it is assessing its coastal and desert installations to ensure they will be resilient in the future. These initiatives all support President Obama's Climate Action Plan, which outlines how the United States will work with the international community in addressing these serious global challenges.

Planning for climate change and making smarter energy investments not only makes our military stronger. It also saves money, reduces demand, and protects the environment. That’s why President Obama and his administration will continue to lead and act on climate change wherever possible — including by forging strong partnerships with our regional allies and helping them prepare for and respond to their own climate challenges. 

While no single weather event can be attributed to climate change, we know that our changing climate is making many kinds of extreme events more frequent and more severe. Rising seas threaten our coastlines. Dry regions are at higher risk of destructive wildfires. Heat waves impact health and agriculture. Heavier downpours can lead to damaging floods.

Even as we work to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and expand renewable energy generation, we need to take steps to make our communities more resilient to the climate-change impacts we can’t avoid—some of which are already well underway.

 That’s why today, delivering on a commitment in the President’s Climate Action Plan, we are launching the Climate Data Initiative, an ambitious new effort bringing together extensive open government data and design competitions with commitments from the private and philanthropic sectors to develop data-driven planning and resilience tools for local communities. This effort will help give communities across America the information and tools they need to plan for current and future climate impacts.

The Climate Data Initiative builds on the success of the Obama Administration’s ongoing efforts to unleash the power of open government data. Since data.gov, the central site to find U.S. government data resources, launched in 2009, the Federal government has released troves of valuable data that were previously hard to access in areas such as health, energy, education, public safety, and global development. Today these data are being used by entrepreneurs, researchers, tech innovators, and others to create countless new applications, tools, services, and businesses.

Data from NOAA, NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Defense, and other Federal agencies will be featured on climate.data.gov, a new section within data.gov that opens for business today. The first batch of climate data being made available will focus on coastal flooding and sea level rise. NOAA and NASA will also be announcing an innovation challenge calling on researchers and developers to create data-driven simulations to help plan for the future and to educate the public about the vulnerability of their own communities to sea level rise and flood events.

These and other Federal efforts will be amplified by a number of ambitious private commitments. For example, Esri, the company that produces the ArcGIS software used by thousands of city and regional planning experts, will be partnering with 12 cities across the country to create free and open “maps and apps” to help state and local governments plan for climate change impacts. Google will donate one petabyte—that’s 1,000 terabytes—of cloud storage for climate data, as well as 50 million hours of high-performance computing with the Google Earth Engine platform. The company is challenging the global innovation community to build a high-resolution global terrain model to help communities build resilience to anticipated climate impacts in decades to come. And the World Bank will release a new field guide for the Open Data for Resilience Initiative, which is working in more than 20 countries to map millions of buildings and urban infrastructure. 

Every citizen will be affected by climate change—and all of us must work together to make our communities stronger and more resilient to its impacts. By taking the enormous data sets regularly collected by NASA, NOAA, and other agencies and applying the ingenuity, creativity, and expertise of technologists and entrepreneurs, the Climate Data Initiative will help create easy-to-use tools for regional planners, farmers, hospitals, and businesses across the country—and empower America’s communities to prepare themselves for the future.

That’s why in his speech, the President asked me to lead a comprehensive review of the way that “big data” will affect the way we live and work; the relationship between government and citizens; and how public and private sectors can spur innovation and maximize the opportunities and free flow of this information while minimizing the risks to privacy. I will be joined in this effort by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz, the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren, the President’s Economic Advisor Gene Sperling and other senior government officials.

I would like to explain a little bit more about the review, its scope, and what you can expect over the next 90 days.

We are undergoing a revolution in the way that information about our purchases, our conversations, our social networks, our movements, and even our physical identities are collected, stored, analyzed and used. The immense volume, diversity and potential value of data will have profound implications for privacy, the economy, and public policy. The working group will consider all those issues, and specifically how the present and future state of these technologies might motivate changes in our policies across a range of sectors.

When we complete our work, we expect to deliver to the President a report that anticipates future technological trends and frames the key questions that the collection, availability, and use of “big data” raise – both for our government, and the nation as a whole. It will help identify technological changes to watch, whether those technological changes are addressed by the U.S.’s current policy framework and highlight where further government action, funding, research and consideration may be required.  

This is going to be a collaborative effort. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will conduct a study to explore in-depth the technological dimensions of the intersection of big data and privacy, which will feed into this broader effort. Our working group will consult with industry, civil liberties groups, technologists, privacy experts, international partners, and other national and local government officials on the significance of and future for these technologies. Finally, we will be working with a number of think tanks, academic institutions, and other organizations around the country as they convene stakeholders to discuss these very issues and questions. Likewise, many abroad are analyzing and responding to the challenge and seizing the opportunity of big data. These discussions will help to inform our study.

While we don’t expect to answer all these questions, or produce a comprehensive new policy in 90 days, we expect this work to serve as the foundation for a robust and forward-looking plan of action. Check back on this blog for updates on how you can get involved in the debate and for status updates on our progress.