This week President Obama and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy rolled out a long-awaited new rule addressing carbon emission standards for U.S. power plants. The new rule requires a 32% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 from levels in 2005—a target actually more ambitious than the rule EPA first proposed last year, which we discussed on this blog. The new rule also sets the stage for a strong U.S. presence at the upcoming international climate summit in Paris in December, and its full text can be found here.
Opponents of the rule have already begun arguing it will cost jobs and hurt families and the economy, but the White House contends the rule will have just the opposite effect, creating thousands of new jobs and leading to savings for average American families of $85 per year on their annual energy bill.
The new rule is almost certain to face challenge in the courts and may even become a lively topic in the upcoming 2016 Presidential election.
You can read a “Fact Sheet” released by the White House on the rule, and learn more details on the EPA’s website.
