Environmental Protection Agency Chief Scott Pruitt announced he will take steps to repeal the Obama rule which limits greenhouse-gas emissions, claiming “the war against coal is over.” Pruitt said Monday the new proposed rule is to be published by his agency on Tuesday.
“Tomorrow, in Washington, D.C., I’ll be a signing a proposed rule to withdraw the so-called Clean Power Plan of the past administration, and thus begin the effort to withdraw that rule,” the EPA chief said.
The proposal fulfills President Donald Trump’s promise to put an end to Obama’s environmental legacy. The announcement made by Pruitt caused an argument concerning America’s efforts in dealing with global warming, making it more unlikely that the U.S. will hold up its end of the bargain and reduce emissions contributing to global warming. Trump recently declared he would leave the Paris Climate Agreement which obliges the United States to take action to eliminate carbon emissions.
In his announcement of the repeal, Pruitt argued the same points he has been making for years, that Obama’s administration overstepped its authority by trying to force power plants to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. A draft of the repeal proposal indicates that the U.S. could save up to $33 billion by not complying to the rule.
Around one third of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States comes from power plants fired by coal and natural gas. The 2015 Clean Power Plan was intended to cut these emissions by 32 percent by 2030.
The repeal proposal will most likely be challenged in court by both environmentalists and several states on scientific as well as economic grounds. On the other hand, industry groups expressed satisfaction with the announcement, even though they suggested they would prefer a more modest regulation on power plants as a replacement for the Clean Power Plan, reports The New York Times.
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