Today, President Obama will unveil a climate change plan designed to circumvent Congress that includes controversial rules to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants.
Earlier this year, Obama's nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlined her desire to regulate power plants to combat carbon emissions.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and President Obama's pick to head the EPA, spoke on of "future power plants" that would "use of carbon capture storage and technology" directed at coal and petroleum power plants.
During her February 21, 2013 speech at Georgetown University Law Center, Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA, said:
"Now, let's talk a little bit about carbon pollution standard for new power plants, which I like to call 'future power plants' so there is a bit of a distinction and, really, what we're talking about regulating is future power plants.
"As you know, in March of 2012, EPA announced the first ever carbon pollution standard for future fossil fuel fired power plants. Power plants, as you know account for about 40 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions; that's why we are paying attention to power plants. They are actually the single largest source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
"The proposed standard would ensure that future power plants use modern technology, so they limit their carbon pollution. The proposal includes a flexible compliance program to facilitate the use of carbon capture storage and technology by future coal and petroleum power plants. Now, the common sense proposal reflects the ongoing trend in the power sector: to build cleaner plants that take advantage of modern technologies and fuels that are produced in the United States, and it would ensure that current progress continues toward a cleaner, safer, and modern power supply system.
"The agency is currently reading the one or two million comments we have received on that proposal - we actually have received over two million comments on that proposal. We are giving each of those comments their due consideration so that we make sure when we move forward with this rule, that we get this rule right."