The new rule will go into effect shortly after publication in the Federal Register.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which replaces the Clean Power Plan with less stringent emissions guidelines for power plants.
Essentially, the final ruling “restores the rule of law,” letting states can their own carbon emissions standards for coal-fired power plants — which many see as a threat to a cleaner energy future.
“With this rule, the EPA is dodging its responsibility,” said Richard Revesz, Lawrence King Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at NYU School of Law and director of the Institute for Policy Integrity. “The agency is required to control greenhouse gas pollution with the ‘best system of emission reduction,’ but this approach is nowhere close, making the rule legally vulnerable.”
The approach used in the final rule is inconsistent with science, economics, and regulatory practice by administrations of both parties over several decades, according to Revesz. The EPA completed a rollback of environmental rules, replacing efforts from the previous Obama Administration to reduce the nation’s reliance on electrical grid off coal-fired power plants and make a change.
The Clean Power Plan was set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to the climate crisis, by up to 32% compared to 2005 levels by the same year.
To read further comments from the Institute for Policy Integrity’s to the EPA on the proposed version of this rule, click here.
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