President Barack Obama will attempt to kick-start a global climate
agenda on Tuesday with proposals including a plan to limit carbon
emissions from existing U.S. power plants that is sure to face
opposition from the coal industry, many business groups and Republican
lawmakers.
Obama, whose first-term attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
through a “cap and trade” system was thwarted by Congress, promised in
his second inaugural address to tackle the issue again.
Environmentalists and Obama’s political base have been anxious for
action, but the first months of his second term have been dominated by
immigration reform, a failed attempt to pass strict gun control
measures, and a series of political scandals.
Republicans, in turn, have been emboldened by Obama’s stumbles. Many
also question climate science and oppose regulatory actions they say
could hurt the economy.
The Democratic president aims to address those concerns and make good
on his inaugural promise with a speech, scheduled for 1:55 p.m., that
lays out a new plan to reduce emissions, boost renewable fuels, and lead
the world in tackling global warming.
The key proposal involves the thousands of power plants, many of them
coal-fired, which account for roughly one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions.
Obama will direct the Environmental Protection Agency to draft a plan
setting carbon emission limits on existing power plants by June 2014,
finalizing those rules a year later, according to senior administration
officials who briefed reporters before the speech.
“We already set limits for arsenic, mercury and lead, but we let
power plants release as much carbon pollution as they want,” one
official said.
The proposals are likely to draw criticism from segments of the
energy industry and some Republican lawmakers that they will cost jobs
and hurt the U.S. economic recovery. In addition, they could be tied up
in court for years.
The administration officials did not give details of what the limits
for existing plants would entail. Separately, the EPA would finalize
overdue plans for carbon limits on new power plants by September, they
said.
Environmental groups that had early word of the administration’s plans cheered.
“Tackling carbon pollution from power plants is the greatest
opportunity and should be at the core of any serious approach to reduce
U.S. emissions. For the first time, a U.S. president is taking such
action,” Andrew Steer, president of the World Resources Institute, said
in a statement.
“This announcement will have ripple effects that will increase the urgency of action around the globe.”
KEYSTONE OVERHANG, INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
None of the president’s proposals, including plans to reduce
emissions from heavy duty trucks after 2018, require congressional
approval. That alone is likely to spark howls from Obama’s opponents on
Capitol Hill.
“(Obama) made it very clear that his preference would be for Congress
to act and move comprehensive energy and climate legislation forward,”
the official told reporters. “At this point … the president is prepared
to act.”
Some environmentalists fear that Obama will use new climate measures
to head off criticism if his administration approves the proposed
Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to refineries in
Texas.
A senior administration official said the decision on Keystone has not been made.
Green groups want Obama to reject the pipeline. Republicans and many
businesses say it will help the economy, and some unions support the
project because of the jobs likely to be created during the pipeline’s
construction.
The president’s allies abroad will be watching, too. In 2009, Obama
pledged to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 17 percent
below 2005 levels by 2020 – cheering partners in Europe, who were
frustrated by less ambitious promises made by Obama’s Republican
predecessor, George W. Bush.
Obama will stand by that pledge on Tuesday, and officials said
Washington wants to take the lead in international efforts to seek a new
agreement to reduce emissions after 2020.
“We will be seeking an agreement that is ambitious, inclusive and
flexible,” the White House said in a written version of Obama’s climate
plan.
As part of its global efforts, the White House would propose World
Trade Organization talks on free trade in environmental goods and
services, officials said. The United States would also plan to end its
support of public financing for new coal power plants overseas unless
they used carbon capture technology. Very poor countries would still get
support.
Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed this month to cooperate
in fighting climate change by cutting the use of hydrofluorocarbons, or
HFCs.
The White House plan includes measures to tackle HFCs as well as emissions from methane, another potent greenhouse gas.
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