EPA takes aim
The Trump administration intends to roll back the centerpiece of former president Barack Obama’s efforts to cut down on greenhouse gases.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration intends to roll back the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama’s efforts to slow global warming, seeking to ease restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coalfired power plants.
In a plan expected to be made public in coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Obama-era rule exceeded federal law by setting emissions standards that power plants could not reasonably meet. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the 43-page document, which underscored the administration’s bid to revive the struggling coal industry.
The EPA’s new proposal would make good on President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to unravel Obama’s efforts to curb global warming and follows Trump’s promise to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate agreement. Nearly 200 countries have committed to combat global warming by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
The EPA won’t prescribe an immediate replacement to the plan, but will seek public comment on whether to curb climatewarming emissions from coal and natural gas power plants.
A spokeswoman for EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt declined to comment Friday on the authenticity of the leaked document but said the Obama administration “pushed the bounds of their authority so far” that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay to prevent the Clean Power Plan from taking effect.
“Any replacement rule that the Trump administration proposes will be done carefully and properly within the confines of the law,” EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said.
The Obama administration’s cost-benefits analysis of the Clean Power Plan was “highly uncertain” in multiple areas, Bowman said, vowing that the Trump administration will present a range of scenarios to the public “in a robust, open and transparent way.”
Obama’s plan was designed to cut U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule dictated specific emission targets for states based on powerplant emissions and gave officials broad latitude to decide how to achieve reductions.
The Supreme Court put the plan on hold last year following a legal challenge by industry and coalfriendly states.