More Resources

The President's Climate Change Proposal of October 1997 and the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), were intended to identify methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The FCCC was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1992 and put into force in July 1994. The purpose of the Kyoto Protocol (Protocol), a proposed amendment to the FCCC, is to reduce net emissions of certain greenhouse gases (primarily CO2) by setting binding limitations on the emissions of developed countries throughout the world. The Protocol was negotiated by more than 160 nations in December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, pursuant to the objectives of the FCCC. It mandates targets to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries, including the U.S., but not for developing countries. The Protocol has not been forwarded to the Senate for ratification. The objective of our audit was to determine whether funds were expended to implement the Kyoto Protocol, or to prepare for its implementation. The audit was initiated pursuant to a congressional request.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Global Climate Change Activities

Presidential permit authorizing Central Power and Light Company to construct, operate, and maintain electric transmission facilities at the U.S-Mexican border.

Presidential permit authorizing Central Power and Light Company to construct, operate, and maintain electric transmission facilities at the U.S-Mexican border.

In 1994, the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to replace its standard management and operating contract with a new performance-based contract. Such contracts were to include incentives to improve performance and/or reduce costs. The contract awarded by the Idaho Operations Office (Idaho) to Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (Lockheed) in 1995 for the operation of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) was the first to incorporate performance-based incentives. The objective of our audit was to determine whether performance-based incentives at the INEEL had improved performance and reduced costs

Performance Incentives at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

The trend in both government and the private sector is greater reliance on "Integrated Business Information Systems" which are modern information systems that can be used to manage business functions as a seamless unit rather than as separate activities. The attraction of these software systems lies in management's ability to access real-time data, link business processes and applications, support immediate responses to change, and incorporate best business practices. A number of the Department's facility management contractors were in the process of developing and implementing such systems. The objective of the audit was to evaluate the progress being made by the Department's contractors in this effort.

Implementation of Integrated Business Information Systems Within the Department of Energy