WSJ: EPA Rule Will Cut Power Plant Emissions By 30 Percent By 2030

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/06/01/3443576/wsj-epa-rules-will-cut-power-plant-emissions-by-30-percent-by-2030/



The proposed rule on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants slated to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency Monday will aim to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The paper reported Sunday that according to “two people who have been briefed on the rule,” the regulations will seek a 25 percent cut in CO2 emissions by 2020 and a 30 percent cut by 2030 from 2005 emissions levels. Since power plant emissions in the U.S. fell from 2005 to 2012, the 2005 baseline indicates a less stringent cut than a 2012 baseline would have, but 30 percent is still larger than the previous estimate of up to 20 percent.

The proposed rule is scheduled to be completed one year from now and will go into effect in 2016. The EPA did not confirm the specifics of the rule to the Wall Street Journal, saying they would not comment on the rules until they are announced on Monday. In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama lauded the health benefits of the new rule, which he said will lead to major cuts in asthma and heart attacks in its first year.

“Today, about 40 percent of America’s carbon pollution comes from power plants. But right now, there are no national limits to the amount of carbon pollution that existing plants can pump into the air we breathe. None,” Obama said. “We limit the amount of toxic chemicals like mercury, sulfur, and arsenic that power plants put in our air and water. But they can dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air. It’s not smart, it’s not safe and it doesn’t make sense.”