US unveils plan to slash U.S. power plant carbon emissions
2016-05-08
The United States on Monday formally announced a plan to slash carbon emissions from the power sector by 30 percent nationwide below 2005 levels by 2030, a key element of President Barack Obama's plan to tackle global warming.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the plan would cut particle pollution, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 percent, and reduce the instances of asthma attacks.
They mark the most sweeping and significant environmental regulations introduced by the Obama administration, and could transform the power sector. The country's roughly 1,000 power plants, which account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. carbon emissions, face limits on carbon pollution for the first time.
Although states will be given different targets to meet depending on the carbon intensity of their current power plants, the power sector would need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent on average by 2020 and hit the 30 percent target 10 years later, the sources said.
The plan gives states multiple options to achieve their emission targets, such as improving power plant heat rates; using more natural gas plants to replace coal plants; ramping up zero-carbon energy, such as solar or nuclear; and increasing energy efficiency. States can also use measures such as carbon cap-and-trade systems as a way to meet their goals. The EPA may establish different timelines to allow states that are heavy users of coal - Kentucky and West Virginia, for example - to catch up, sources have said.
But major hurdles remain. The EPA's rules are expected to stir legal challenges on whether the agency has overstepped its authority. A 120-day public comment period follows the rules' release. The National Association of Manufacturers, argued on Monday that the power plant plan was "a direct threat" to its members' competitiveness.
Obama, on a conference call with public health groups, said Americans' electricity bills would shrink, not rise, as the rules spur investment in new technologies. The EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy also forecast that the regulations could yield over $90 billion dollars in climate and health benefits. Soot and smog reductions that would be achieved through the plan would translate into a $7 health benefit for every dollar invested in the plan, she said.
The rules, when finalized, could give Washington more clout in international talks next year to develop a framework for fighting climate change.
Source: Reuters
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