EPA plan targets carbon pollution from power plants
WASHINGTON,
June 2, 2014 – The Environmental Protection Agency released its draft proposal
for cutting carbon pollution from existing power plants – the single largest
source of carbon pollution in the U.S.
The
EPA said the draft rule follows through on what it calls the “common sense
steps” laid out by President Obama in his Climate Action Plan and in a June 2013
Presidential Memorandum. The agency said that by the target year of 2030 the
plan will:
-Cut
carbon emission from the power sector by 30 percent nationwide below 2005
levels. That’s equal to the emissions from powering more than half the homes in
the U.S. for one year.
-Cut
particle pollution, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide by more than 25 percent
as a co-benefit.
-Avoid
up to 6,600 premature deaths, up to 150,000 asthma attacks in children, and up
to 490,000 missed work or school days — providing up to $93 billion in climate
and public health benefits.
-Shrink
electricity bills roughly 8 percent by increasing energy efficiency and
reducing demand in the electricity system.
“Climate
change, fueled by carbon pollution, supercharges risks to our health, our
economy, and our way of life,” EPA chief Gina McCarthy said in a news release.
“EPA is delivering on a vital piece of President Obama's Climate Action Plan by
proposing a Clean Power Plan that will cut harmful carbon pollution from our
largest source -- power plants.”
At
an official draft rule release event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., today, McCarthy stressed the long-term
costs of climate change. “This is not just about disappearing polar
bears and melting ice caps, though I like polar bears and know about melting
ice caps,” she said of the EPA action. “This is about protecting our health and
protecting our homes.”
However, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report last week saying that the plan will
cost the American economy over $50 billion a year between now and 2030. The
chamber said the report, by the organization’s Institute for 21st Century
Energy, was based on the Obama administration’s emissions reduction goals.
“Our
analysis shows that Americans will pay significantly more for electricity, see
slower economic growth and fewer jobs, and have less disposable income, while a
slight reduction in carbon emissions will be overwhelmed by global increases,” Karen
Harbert, president and CEO of the Energy Institute, said in the release.
EPA said public comments on the plan will be accepted for 120 days after publication in the Federal Register. It also said it will hold four public hearings on the proposed Clean Power Plan during the week of July 28, in Denver, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. A final plan will be released in June 2015.
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