What EPA’s Clean Power Plan means for Jefferson County

On Monday, President Barack Obama and his administration announced the new climate change rules, and Governor Tom Wolf gives his full support.

French President Francois Hollande said this, the first plan ever to limit US power-plant emissions, would be a “major contribution to the success” of the UN conference his country will host from November 30 to December 11 to negotiate a new global climate deal.

But fellow Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley says passing the bill is no easy matter. But they figure that if they can intimidate the states into enacting as much change as fast as possible, a legal defeat won’t matter because the outcome will be a fait accompli.

“This request is a necessary first step and prerequisite to confronting this illegal power grab by the Obama administration and EPA”, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement.

Image: US power plants emitting carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other pollutants.

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy have already begun transitioning away from coal, and while they continue to invest in wind and solar, natural gas-powered plants were to carry the bulk of energy production in coal’s absence.

Although that case is separate from the Clean Power Plan, dozens of industry groups cheered the court’s ruling as a victory against EPA overreach.

The final Clean Power Plan takes into account 4 million comments that were submitted to the EPA during the public comment period, and sets state targets in a way that reflects this input from states, utilities, and stakeholders. Consider this: More than 50 percent of U.S. electric power came from coal in 2005. But, leaders across the state say this could have a negative impact on jobs across the country. Its most notable feature is its “very strong move against coal”, the dirtiest fossil fuel, according to Nicholas Stern, a member of Britain’s House of Lords and a former chief economist at the World Bank.

He said there was a gap of about 1.5billion tons between the emissions-curbing target and the actions the US was taking.

Even those Americans who are skeptical of climate change ought to support the EPA’s new plan. States will be required to submit their plans by 2016-2018 and start reducing emissions by 2022 through 2030. It’s up to each state to choose from a battery of measures, from switching away from coal to gas power, to enacting energy efficiency and carbon tax programs.

Consumers, particularly in the heartland states that rely on coal-fired plants, may see their rates skyrocket, just as President Obama predicted in a moment of candor.

“The U.S. can and will be able to change the world in addressing a climate phenomenon”.