Obama's Tepid Attempt to Crack Down on Carbon Emissions

On June 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will seek to require the nation’s power plant operators to cut their combined carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030. Although the EPA already regulates air pollutants such as mercury and sulfur, this is its first crack at limiting carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. The rule essentially singles out the 600 or so coal plants in the U.S., which produce 40 percent of the country’s electricity and account for about a third of all CO2 emissions. Unsurprisingly, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy hailed it as a sweeping measure that will spur a “clean-energy revolution.” Unsurprisingly, industry groups decried it as regulatory overreach that will kill jobs and raise people’s electricity bills.

The truth is, it’s neither. The proposal isn’t as bold as the Obama administration makes it out to be, nor is it as draconian as the energy industry claims. The story of how it came to be is one of a piecemeal approach, a second-best solution, and a lost opportunity to achieve far greater limits on pollution.