White House set to adopt sweeping

curbs on carbon pollution

Object 1

The Obama administration is toughening rules that force states to cut pollution from
coal-burning power plants. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

By Joby Warrick-August 1

The Obama administration will formally adopt an ambitious regulation for cutting
greenhouse-gas pollution on Monday, requiring every state to reduce emissions
from coal-burning power plants and putting the country on a course that could
change the way millions of Americans get their electricity.
A retooled version of the administrations Clean Power Plan, first proposed a year
ago, will seek to accelerate the shift to renewable energy while setting tougher goals
for slashing carbon emissions blamed for global warming, according to
administration officials briefed on the details.
The new plan sets a goal of cutting carbon pollution from power plants by 32
percent by the year 2030, compared with 2005 levels a 9 percent jump from the
previous target of 30percent while rewarding states and utility companies that

move quickly to expand their investment in solar and wind power.

Many states will face tougher requirements for lowering greenhouse-gas emissions
under the revised plan. But state governments also will be given more time to meet
their targets and considerably more flexibility in how they achieve their pollutioncutting goals, according to two senior officials knowledgeable about the rule. For
the first time, the officials said, the plan also includes a reliability safety valve that
can buy states additional time if needed to avoid disruptions in the power supply.
The rule the first to regulate carbon emissions as a pollutant is certain to face
legal challenges as well as fierce opposition from the Republican-controlled
Congress. Opponents blasted last years proposed regulation as a possibly illegal
federal overreach that would impose costly burdens on utility companies and their
customers.

All sides agree that the rule, if it stands, could substantially alter the U.S. energy

landscape, driving the expanded use of clean energy while further diminishing
coals long dominance as a source of power for homes and businesses. White House
officials say Americans will see major gains in improving air quality and fighting
climate change as a result.
[New EPA rule on greenhouse gases the latest blow to King Coal]
This is the most significant action any U.S. president has taken to curb greenhouse

gases, said one of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because
the revised plan had not yet been made public. It will form the foundation of the
countrys efforts to take on climate change for decades to come.
The formal unveiling of the plan on Monday will kick off a major White House
initiative on climate. The campaign starts with a series of policy addresses and
includes a visit to the Alaskan Arctic by President Obama to call attention to the
effects of global warming. In September, Obama will entertain Pope Francis, an
equally ardent apostle for battling climate change. The effort is expected to
culminate in December with talks on a proposed international treaty curbing global
carbon emissions.
In a recorded video message to be released early Sunday, Obama describes the
Environmental Protection Agencys plan to rein in coal-burning as the biggest,
most important step weve ever taken to combat climate change.
Power plants are the single biggest source of the harmful carbon pollution that

contributes to the climate change, Obama said, according to a transcript of the

video provided to The Washington Post. But until now, there have been no federal
limits to the amount of that pollution those plants can dump into the air. Think
about that.
[Some states see easier road to meeting carbon-cutting goals.]

Years in the making, the Clean Power Plan

is a cornerstone of the administrations
efforts to reduce emissions that scientists
say are driving a rapid and potentially
destructive warming of the planet. The
White House has already promulgated
regulations to dramatically improve energy
The John E. Amos Power Plant, a coalfired plant, is seen behind a home in
Poca, W.Va., in 2014. (Robert
Galbraith/Reuters)

efficiency in passenger cars and heavy

trucks while also reducing emissions of
heat-trapping methane from oil and gas

production.
Coal-burning produces about 40percent of the electricity used by Americans, but
reliance on coal has been slowly falling for several reasons, including government
pollution controls, lower prices for solar and wind energy, and a resurgence of
cheap natural gas. In the spring, natural gas surpassed coal as the biggest single
source of electricity generation.
The Clean Power Plan seeks to capitalize on the recent market trends by
encouraging states to accelerate the shift to cleaner sources of energy. The rule
requires each state to cut carbon emissions from its energy sector over the next 15
years the exact amount of reductions vary, depending on each states energy mix
while allowing governments to choose from a menu of options, including closing
older coal-burning power plants and increasing reliance on solar and wind energy.
In many states, the energy transformation is well underway as utility companies
replace outdated coal-fired power plants with new ones that use natural gas or
renewable energy.
A White House fact sheet said the intention was to encourage states to speed up the
transition.

The rule drives early reductions from renewable energy and energy efficiency,

which will drive a more aggressive transformation in the domestic energy industry,
the document states.
[Pope Francis takes on climate skeptics with encyclical.]
The version of the plan introduced in June2014 drew skepticism from many states
and furious opposition from congressional Republicans, particularly lawmakers
from coal-producing states. Opponents warned that the regulation would devastate
the coal industry and force utility companies to raise electricity rates, slowing the
economic recovery and hurting consumers, especially the poor. Independent
studies produced wildly different estimates of the regulations potential cost,
ranging from onerous to negligible.
This proposed plan is already on shaky legal grounds, will be extremely

burdensome and costly, and will not seriously address the global environmental
concerns that are frequently raised to justify it, Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) wrote in a March letter to all 50 governors, urging them to
simply ignore the EPA rule.
The revised plan includes significant changes intended to soften political opposition
and deflect future legal challenges, according to the officials briefed on the
measure. As described by these officials, the altered version includes:
Extended compliance timelines and greater flexibility to make it easier for states

to meet their targets. States will have two additional years until 2022 to begin
phasing in pollution cuts, and state governments can form regional pacts to
facilitate emissions-cutting projects across state lines.
The safety valve feature, added to prevent any possibility of disruptions to the

power supply as older power plants are phased out or upgraded. While

administration officials say supply disruptions are highly unlikely, states will be
able to appeal for extensions and other relief if problems arise.

New incentives for utilities to construct renewable-energy projects in poorer

neighborhoods, reducing pollution-related illness and eventually lowering

electricity rates.
The elimination of one of the rules four original building blocks that states

could use in designing their own carbon-reduction plans. Gone from the regulation
is a feature that would have allowed states to claim credit for reducing emissions by
adding programs that improve energy efficiency for electricity consumers. While
the revised rule still encourages energy efficiency, the provision was dropped over
concerns about future legal challenges, administration officials said.
The new version also includes an expanded Clean Energy Incentive Program that
offers extensive credits to states for acting quickly to invest in renewable energy,
the administration officials said. The program is structured specifically to reward
investment in solar and wind power, essentially ensuring greater reliance on
renewables in the future, they said.
Because of these inducements, the percentage of U.S. electricity coming from
renewables is expected to rise to 28percent by the year 2030, compared with 22
percent under the previous version of the rule, the officials said. The White House
predicts that electricity bills will drop for U.S. consumers by an average of $85 a
year by 2030.
The impact will not just be in this decade, but far into the future, the officials said.

Read more: What you need to know about Obamas biggest global warming move

yet the Clean Power Plan

Joby Warrick joined the Posts national staff in 1996. He has covered
national security, intelligence and the Middle East, and currently
writes about the environment.
Posted by Thavam