Obama to unveil 'biggest step ever’ in climate fight by imposing steeper cuts on gas emissions
The new plan sets a goal of cutting carbon pollution from power plants by 32 percent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels
US President Barack Obama will impose even steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants than previously expected, senior administration officials said, in what the president called the most significant step the United States has ever taken to fight global warming.
A year after proposing unprecedented carbon dioxide limits, the Obama administration was poised to finalise the rule at a White House event Monday.
Obama, in a video posted to Facebook, said the limits were backed up by decades of data and facts showing that without tough action, the world will face more extreme weather and escalating health problems like asthma. “Climate change is not a problem for another generation,” Obama said. “Not any more.”
In his initial proposal, Obama had mandated a 30 per cent nationwide cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The final version, which follows extensive consultations with environmental groups and the energy industry, will require a 32 per cent cut instead, according to Obama administration officials, who weren’t authorised to comment by name and requested anonymity.
Opponents said they would sue the government immediately. They also planned to ask the courts to put the rule on hold while legal challenges play out.
The final version also gives states an additional two years – until 2022 – to comply, officials said, yielding to complaints that the original deadline was too soon. States will also have until 2018 instead of 2017 to submit their plans for how they intend to meet their targets.
But the administration will attempt to incentivise states to take action earlier by offering credits to states that boost renewable sources like wind and solar in 2020 and 2021, officials said.
The focus on renewables marks a significant shift from the earlier version that sought to accelerate the ongoing shift from coal-fired power to natural gas, which emits far less carbon dioxide.
The final rule aims to keep the share of natural gas in the nation’s power mix the same as it is now. The stricter limits included in the final plan were certain to incense energy industry advocates who had already baulked at the more lenient limits in the proposed plan. But the Obama administration said its tweaks would cut energy costs and address concerns about power grid reliability.
The Obama administration previously predicted the emissions limits will cost up to US$8.8 billion annually by 2030, although it says those costs will be partly offset by health savings.
In the works for years, the power plant rule forms the cornerstone of Obama’s plan to curb US emissions and keep global temperatures from climbing, and its success is pivotal to the legacy Obama hopes to leave on climate change.
Never before has the US sought to restrict carbon dioxide from existing power plants. By clamping down on power plant emissions, Obama is also working to increase his leverage and credibility with other nations whose commitments he’s seeking for a global climate treaty to be finalised later this year in Paris.
As its contribution to that treaty, the US has pledged to cut overall emissions 26 per cent to 28 per cent by 2025, compared to 2005. Other major polluting nations have also stepped up, including China which pledged to halt its growth in emissions by 2030 despite an economy that’s still growing.
Even before the rule was finalised, more than a dozen states announced plans to fight it. At the urging of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, some Republican governors have declared they’ll simply refuse to comply, setting up a certain confrontation with the Environmental Protection Agency, which by law can force its own plan on states that fail to submit implementation plans.
With the end of Obama’s presidency drawing nearer, his climate efforts have become increasingly entangled in the next presidential election. The power plant rule won’t go into effect until long after Obama leaves office, putting its implementation in the hands of his successor.