Obama to unveil power plant emission limits in June

• 10 years ago (2014-05-09)
• Junior Isles

North America 1021

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US President Barack Obama’s administration is set to unveil his proposals for emissions limits on power plants across the US in early June.

Fellow Democrats in the White House would prefer Obama to hold off until after the election. The Obama administration, however, is going full speed ahead, fuelled by concerns that if the process is not started now the rules will not be in place before Obama leaves office in January 2017. This would make it easier for his successor to stop them.

Last year, the administration proposed the first-ever carbon dioxide limits on newly built power plants, drawing fierce criticism from both parties who say the technology to capture carbon emissions to meet those standards is not yet commercially viable.

Climate activists say the next step – rules cracking down on existing plants – are even more critical to curbing the pollutants blamed for global warming. Unlike with new plants, the Clean Air Act does not let the government regulate emissions from existing plants directly. Instead, the government will issue guidelines for reducing emissions. Each state will then develop its own plan to meet those guidelines.

A Pew Research Center poll late last year found 65 per cent of Americans favour setting stricter emission limits on power plants in order to address climate change, while 30 per cent were opposed.