As the end of the Obama administration approaches, the President has made climate change a priority issue. In August, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out its centerpiece policy, the Clean Power Plan, which President Obama declared, “the single most important step America has ever taken in the fight against global climate change.”
Economists and the energy sector alike have warned for years that the regulatory package under consideration would have a major, negative financial impact on the United States. Even so, the Clean Power Plan’s final edition is even more stringent than its earlier iterations. The rule will force states to cut carbon emissions to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. If the EPA decides the measures crafted in statehouses aren’t sufficiently draconian, it will impose the federal government’s one-size-fits-all plan.
The regulation seeks to fundamentally alter America’s power system, targeting traditional energy sources, such as coal and natural gas, while creating an artificial market for green energy sources like solar and wind, which remain vastly more expensive.
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