Morning Must-Read: Ben Adler: Nine Things About Obama’s New Climate Rules
Ben Adler: The nine things you need to know about Obama’s new climate rules: “1. What will the rules do?…
…The EPA intends to create a “rate-based” limit on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants for each state… a standard for how much CO2 is emitted per megawatt hour of electricity…. 2. How much will the plan cut emissions? Nationwide… reduce power plants’ CO2 emissions from 2005 levels by 26 or 27 percent by 2020 and about 30 percent by 2030…. The targets make more sense politically than policy-wise…. 3. Why are these referred to as regulations on “coal-fired power plants,” and why are opponents calling this a “War on Coal”? Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, and it accounts for more than 40 percent of American electric generation and 74 percent of the CO2 emissions from the electricity sector. Under the proposed rules, only coal plants will have to be cleaned up, reduce their usage, or be retired…. 4. What do states have to do? Each state will be required to submit its own plan… make coal plants more efficient… increase natural gas-burning capacity, increase non-carbon energy producing capacity… and reduce demand for electricity through improved efficiency…. 5. How will this affect the mix of fuels the U.S. uses? It’s bad for coal and it’s good for natural gas. It’s good for renewables too. Controversially among environmentalists, the plan also specifically encourages nuclear energy…. 6. How much of a difference will it make in the big scheme of things? It is expected to cut U.S. CO2 emissions by more than 6 percent from 2005 levels by 2020… a significant step…. Moving away from coal has many other environmental benefits… mercury… and sulfur… asthma attacks…. 7. Are there any downsides? Increased natural gas production has its drawbacks…. 8. Will it hurt the economy? No…. 9. What happens now? There will be a public comment period for 120 days, and during the week of July 28, EPA will hold hearings in Denver, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C. Denver and Pittsburgh are both in states with large reserves of coal and natural gas. The rules will then be finalized by June 2015…