New York’s top law enforcer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations are reacting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal that would mandate existing power plants cut carbon-dioxide emissions 30 percent by 2030.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today applauded the proposal.
Climate change poses a “real and present danger” to the people, environment, and economy of New York, Schneiderman said in a statement his office released this morning.
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He is “commending” President Obama for “recognizing the unprecedented threat” of climate change and acting “decisively” on the Clean Air Act’s legal mandate for control of greenhouse-gas pollutants, according to his statement.
“Today’s landmark proposal would, for the first time, limit climate-change pollution from the nation’s single largest source, existing fossil-fueled power plants. It would also leverage state-proven methods of cutting climate change pollution by offering states and power companies flexibility in fashioning strategies to achieve needed reductions,” Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman in March 2011, leading a coalition of states and cities, reached final settlement with the EPA in a 2006 action brought over the agency’s “failure” to set limits on emissions of climate-change pollution from power plants, the attorney general’s office said.
The settlement resulted in a schedule for EPA to set these limits, leading to EPA’s proposal in September 2013 to limit climate-change pollution from new power plants and the proposal announced today to limit existing power plants’ emissions of this pollution, the office added.
Besides Schneiderman, the Sierra Club, a San Francisco, Calif.–based environmental organization, also supports the EPA’s proposal, according to a statement the organization released today.
However, a few organizations are expressing concerns about the proposal.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement in which Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, shared his thoughts.
“Today’s regulations issued by EPA add immense cost and regulatory burdens on America’s job creators. They will have a profound effect on the economy, on businesses, and on families. The Chamber will be actively participating in EPA’s input process on these regulations, and will be educating our members and affiliates about their impacts,” Donohue said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, along with state and local chambers and industry associations, according to its statement.
And another organization is sharing reasons why it is opposed to the EPA proposal.
The National Center for Public Policy Research today released a paper entitled, “Top Ten Reasons Washington Should Not Impose New Global Warming Laws or Regulations.”
In it, the National Center contends the planet hasn’t warmed since the Clinton administration.
In addition, U.S. energy-related, carbon-dioxide emissions already fell 12.6 percent between 2005 and 2012, while global emissions rose 17.7 percent during the same period, the paper said.
The organization also contends that claims that 97 percent of scientists endorse the global warming theory are “propaganda,” according to its news release.
The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a “strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public-policy problems,” according to its website.
Launched in 1982, the National Center seeks “to provide the conservative movement with a versatile and energetic organization capable of responding quickly and decisively to fast-breaking issues,” its website says.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
