EPA rules for power plants draw polluter attacks

On March 27, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first-ever nationwide limits on global warming pollution from fossil fuel power plants – plants that burn coal or natural gas. EDF helped bring the lawsuit that prompted this groundbreaking action.

The groundbreaking initiative applies to new power plants and represents a critical step forward in the fight against global climate change, a looming human and ecological disaster.

U.S. power plants emit about 40% of the carbon pollution in the United States and are one of the largest greenhouse gas emission sources in the world.

EPA began developing its regulations after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling which held that the agency, under the Clean Air Act, had to determine whether carbon pollution posed a threat to human health. (EDF was a party to the case.) In 2009, EPA found that this pollution did pose a threat and began work on the new proposed standards.

The fossil fuel industry, some backward-looking power companies, and their allies in Congress are mobilizing to block the proposed limits. In the Senate, James Inhofe (R-OK), a climate change denier, vowed to kill them. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a statement, promised to "evaluat[e] all of its options to overturn this rule."

EDF activists offer overwhelming support

EDF set an ambitious goal of sending 100,000 supportive comments to EPA, and our members responded. By the time the public comment period ended on June 25, EDF activists had sent an incredible 113,579 in favor of the rule, joining 2 million other Americans – a new record for any proposed EPA regulation.

The power companies can use a variety of approaches to meet EPA’s proposed standards, including:

• more efficient use of existing electricity resources
• wind power and solar energy
• modern natural gas plants
• coal plants that permanently capture and store carbon pollution

Some power companies are leading the way

Some power companies welcome the certainty that would come with the proposed EPA standards.

Ralph Izzo, CEO of the New Jersey utility PSEG, said "The Agency’s action establishes a logical and modest standard for new electric power plants and provides the industry with much needed regulatory certainty. The EPA provides a framework for the industry to confront this problem in a cost effective manner."

The head of another major power company noted that EPA’s proposal reflects the power market’s transition away from conventional coal plants: "The new climate rule is in line with market forces anyway," said Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, which provides electricity to the Carolinas, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. "We're not going to build any coal plants in any event."

EPA moving on other fronts

In addition moving ahead with limits on power plant emissions, EPA is making carbon pollution data from big emitters more accessible to the public. (EPA recently released national greenhouse gas emissions data identifying the largest emission sources in the U.S.)

The agency also proposed stronger greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks last November. The clean car standards, proposed for new model years 2017-2025, will be finalized this summer. This policy will save families hard-earned money at the gas pump, reduce our nation’s dependence on oil and cut dangerous carbon pollution.