6/2/2014 Key Details of E.P.A. Carbon Emissions Proposal - NYTimes.

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POLITICS
Key Details of E.P.A. Carbon Emissions Proposal
By CORAL DAVENPORT JUNE 2, 2014
WASHINGTON A rule proposed by the Enivironmental Protection
Agency would cut carbon pollution from power plants 30 percent from
2005 levels by 2030 the equivalent, according to the agency, of taking
two-thirds of all cars and trucks in America off the road. Here are some
things to know about the rule:
The E.P.A. expects that under the regulation, 30 percent of
electricity in the United States will still come from coal by 2030, down
from about 40 percent today.
The E.P.A. estimates that the rule will cost the economy $7.3 billion
to $8.8 billion annually, but will lead to benefits of $55 billion to $93
billion, primarily by preventing premature deaths and mitigating
respiratory diseases.
Critics complain that the rule will drive up electricity costs, but the
agency forecasts that the rule will increase energy efficiency across the
power sector, leading to lower electricity bills when the program is fully
implemented in 2030.
The rule will not, on its own, lower greenhouse gas pollution enough
to prevent catastrophic effects of climate change. But, in combination with
other regulations, it would allow the United States to meet its commitment
to the United Nations to cut carbon pollution 17 percent by 2020 and press
other major polluting countries, particularly China and India, to follow
suit.
The draft proposal is just the beginning of the process to cut
6/2/2014 Key Details of E.P.A. Carbon Emissions Proposal - NYTimes.com
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emissions. The agency will now take public comment and spend the next
year completing the proposal before releasing the final rule in June 2015.
States will then be given another year to submit compliance plans, or
apply for an extension.
The rule is not an executive order. Under the Clean Air Act, the
E.P.A. is required to regulate any substance defined as a pollutant, which
the law defined as substances that endanger human life and health. A
2007 Supreme Court decision led to an E.P.A. determination that carbon
dioxide is a pollutant, thus requiring that the agency regulate it or be in
violation of the law.
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