USA-CLIMATE CHANGE-CLEAN POWER PLAN/INTERVIEW Environmental group praise Obama's challenge on climate change with power plant rule

Record ID: 145210

  • Title: USA-CLIMATE CHANGE-CLEAN POWER PLAN/INTERVIEW Environmental group praise Obama's challenge on climate change with power plant rule
  • Date: 5th August 2015
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (AUGUST 3, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL DIRECTOR OF CLEAN AIR AND CLIMATE PROGRAM DAVID DONIGER, SAYING: "Well first of all most of the time EPA wins these lawsuits, seventy to ninety percent of the time, so just because someone files a lawsuit doesn't mean they are going to win. Most likely, they l
  • Embargoed: 20th August 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4SAO3R98WX3GVU4RVKE6BGGTS
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. President Barack Obama challenged America and the world to step up efforts to fight global warming on Monday (August 3) at the formal unveiling of his administration's controversial, ramped-up plan to cut carbon emissions from U.S. power plants.
    Declaring climate change the greatest threat facing the world, Obama said the regulation requiring the power sector to cut its emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 would reduce Americans' energy bills and improve the health of vulnerable populations nationwide.
    Environmental groups praised the announcement.
    "This is a historic announcement because it's the first time that the United States has put any limits on the carbon pollution from our power plants," David Doniger, Natural Resources Defense Council Director of Clean Air and Climate Program, said.
    The plan, which also mandates a shift to renewable energy from coal-fired electricity, is meant to put the United States in a strong position at international talks in Paris later this year on reaching a deal to curb global warming.
    "The rest of the world looks to us as the indispensable leader. The United States is the lynchpin of a successful global agreement and the Clean Power Plan is lynchpin of our domestic program that's puts us in a position to make the commitments. So this is a huge step toward a successful global agreement," Doniger said.
    Obama is enacting the plan by executive order, bypassing Congress, which rejected legislative attempts to reduce pollution from carbon dioxide, a common greenhouse gas blamed by scientists for heating the earth.
    The regulations face certain legal challenges from states and industries, and their long-term fate depends on their ability to withstand such challenges.
    Doniger says the EPA usually wins such challenges 70-90 percent of the time.
    "just because someone files a lawsuit doesn't mean they are going to win. Most likely, they lose. The Power Plant Plan stands on very strong legal ground under the Clean Air Act, our national air pollution control law," he said.
    The Clean Power Plan is intended to be a key part of the president's legacy on global warming, which he pledged to fight as a candidate for the White House in 2008.
    His announcement drew immediate condemnation from Republicans.
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the new rules would shutter power plants and drive up electricity costs.
    The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, called the plan an "energy tax" that the administration wanted to issue during a slow recovery from recession.
    Obama rejected criticism that his plan would increase energy bills for Americans, hurt the poor, and cost jobs.
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