EPA to Take Biggest Step Ever to Fight Climate Change

On Monday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to unveil proposed regulations that could be the biggest step the U.S. has taken yet toward dealing with climate change.  The regulations would limit emissions from power plants, which currently account for 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, by far the biggest source.

“There’s a good chance that when history is written, this will be seen as the moment when the U.S. fully committed to combating climate change,” says Michael Greenstone, professor of environmental economics at MIT.  “It’s a tremendous step forward.”

Regulations on power plants have long been seen as the second-best option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Economists say the cheapest route would be comprehensive energy and climate legislation covering emissions across the entire economy, providing flexibility in how emissions are reduced, and incorporating funding for R&D to develop low-carbon technologies.

While regulations aren’t ideal, they may be the only way to move forward on U.S. climate policy.  And the new rules are expected to be far more flexible than some past regulations, keeping down costs.  The regulations might also help revive efforts at international cooperation on climate change.  The U.S. could point to the EPA rules in international negotiations, promising stricter limits in the future if other companies also take steps to reduce emissions.

Although it remains unlikely that we’ll see the single, comprehensive global treaty to reduce emissions that U.N. negotiators have been attempting for 20 years, collaborations between even a few countries could have big results.  Just 10 countries account for nearly 70 percent of total emissions.  The EPA regulations could also help propel investment in low-carbon technologies, such as renewable energy, as utilities seek to reduce emissions.

EPA to Take Biggest Step Ever to Fight Climate Change