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The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acting administrator,
Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, announced the proposal.
It would allow new coal plants to emit up to 1,900 pounds (862
kg) of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity, up from
1,400 pounds now.
The move to revive the ailing coal industry, whose share in the
U.S. energy mix has been in decline, caused an uproar among
environmental groups, who said it ignored dire warnings from the
world's scientists about climate change.
"We are rescinding unfair burdens on American energy providers
and leveling the playing field so that new energy technologies
can be part of America's future," Wheeler said at a press
conference. He spoke alongside Harry Alford, president of the
National Black Chamber of Commerce, a long-time opponent of
former President Barack Obama's limits on carbon emissions.
The EPA hopes to finalize the rule after a public comment
period.
"This proposal is another illegal attempt by the Trump
administration to prop up an industry already buckling under the
powerful force of the free market," said U.S. Senator Sheldon
Whitehouse, a Democrat on the Senate Environment Committee.
Under the existing Obama-era rule, new coal plants would have to
burn some natural gas, which emits less carbon, or install
carbon capture equipment or highly efficient technology that is
not yet commercially available.
Wheeler argued the proposal would not boost U.S. greenhouse
emissions but would actually help drive them down by encouraging
U.S. investment in new energy technologies, which could then be
exported.
"I'd love to see coal plants being built in China and India meet
our standards," he said.
The announcement came ahead of annual U.N. climate talks in
Poland next week, where White House officials plan a panel on
coal technology.
A U.S. Government report last month found climate change will
cost the national economy hundreds of billions of dollars by the
end of the century. That bleak picture clashes with the Trump
administration's pro-fossil-fuels agenda.
"We are not ignoring the government report," Wheeler said. But
he added "a lot of the media's focused on is the worst-case
scenario."
'WINNERS AND LOSERS'
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has projected that
coal demand will fall this year to the lowest in 39 years, as
the power industry moves further toward natural gas and
renewables like solar and wind. The government lists plans for
two new major coal fired power plants over the next five years,
which could benefit from the EPA’s rollback. Still, it also
lists plans for 77 retirements.
Asked if the EPA had an estimate on whether the new proposal
would result in many new coal plants being built, Wheeler said
that was not up to the agency.
"We are not picking winners and losers here," he said.
Jay Duffy, a legal associate at Clean Air Task Force, said
lifting the carbon emissions limit failed to satisfy clean air
law requirements for the best available emissions technology.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, applauded
the EPA's proposal, saying it would help families working in the
coal industry in his state of Kentucky.
"Coal deserves a level playing field, and that's what this White
House is trying to accomplish," McConnell said.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; editing by David Gregorio and
Rosalba O'Brien)
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