What You Need to Know About the Clean Power Plan

摘要

The minute the Obama administration unveiled its final plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants, opponents launched the first of many legal efforts to kill what some have described as the most prejudicial regulation ever proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Clean Power Plan calls for sweeping new requirements to cut carbon dioxide (CO_2) emissions 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule will require a massive restructuring of the power sector. It will decimate coal by establishing unattainable CO_2 standards for coal plants. It does nothing to promote the use of cleaner-burning natural gas, but it will stimulate the deployment of intermittent wind and solar power with new incentives. What's more, it will require states to spend billions to comply with a rule that may ultimately be vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court.