Billed as part of the Act on Climate movement, Obama’s revised proposal for the Clean Power Plan would be the “biggest, most important step” the nation has ever taken toward fighting climate change, Obama said in the Facebook video.
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“Power plants are the single biggest source of the harmful carbon pollution that contributes to the climate change”, Obama said, according to a transcript of the video provided to The Washington Post. “It sets a smart federal standard that gives states the flexibility to choose how to reduce carbon pollution most effectively”.
This could mean in the face of all the economic concerns, even President Obama’s veto powers might not be enough to keep his new carbon emission plan as strict as he’d like.
The rules are expected to draw immediate scorn from congressional Republicans, conservative states, the fossil fuel industry and others.
Utilities, federal energy regulators and electricity grid operators including the New York Independent System Operator Inc. called on the EPA to impose a safeguard to prevent service disruptions, warning that states may see waves of power plant retirements under the new carbon regulations. Individual states would be responsible for coming up with their own plans to meet the target.
Obama will hold an event Monday afternoon at the White House to announce the regulation, the White House said.
Sunday’s announcement included two other related regulations: one with hard limits on the carbon emissions of newly-built power plants and a proposed framework for how the EPA will write implementation plans for states that do not comply. It’s a good plan, and as President, I’d defend it.
The US Environmental Protection Agency previously proposed similar regulations in 2012 and 2014.
The Obama administration beforehand predicted the emissions limits will value as much as $eight.eight billion yearly by 2030, though it says these prices might be far outweighed by well being financial savings from fewer bronchial asthma assaults and different advantages.
But the administration will attempt to incentivize states to take action earlier by offering credits to states that boost renewable sources like wind and solar in 2020 and 2021, officials said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader, has started a pre-emptive campaign against the rules, asking governors to refuse to comply.
Rather than an increase projected under the proposed rule, the White House said that the share of natural gas in the power sector will now remain flat by 2030.
The Obama administration has a mixed track record in fending off legal challenges to its climate rules.
In Congress, lawmakers have sought to use legislation to stop Obama’s regulation.
By clamping down on energy plant emissions, Obama can also be working to extend his leverage and credibility with different nations whose commitments he is in search of for a worldwide local weather treaty to be finalized later this yr in Paris. As its contribution to that treaty, the U.S. has pledged to cut overall emissions 26% to 28% by 2025, compared to 2005.
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Climate change is a scorching-button situation in American politics, and cuts are politically delicate as a result of coal, among the many dirtiest power sources, stays a serious US business. Experts estimate that as many as 25 states will join in a lawsuit against the rules and that the disputes will end up before the Supreme Court.
