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The
approach reflects how the administration of U.S. President Joe
Biden intends to forge ahead with goals to decarbonize the power
sector despite the recent ruling from the court. The power
industry is the source of a quarter of the nation's greenhouse
gases and Biden campaigned on a pledge to cut its net emissions
to zero by 2035.
"Will [the Supreme Court decision] constrain what we could do
and the flexibilities that we could allow the power sector to
have? Absolutely," Regan said in an interview with Reuters. "But
are we deterred? Absolutely not. EPA is still in the game."
Regan, who was speaking to Reuters during a tour of polluted
sites in Puerto Rico, said the court’s ruling would mean that a
rule the EPA hopes to unveil next year to tackle carbon
emissions from power plants will be narrower than it otherwise
would have been.
But he said the EPA is also working on several other rules
targeting power plants, including requirements for the disposal
of toxic coal ash and enhancements to the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards for ozone. When combined, the rules will
signal to the U.S. power industry that clean energy is the most
cost-effective way to comply, he said.
"We want to present the industry with a suite of regulations so
that they can make the best long-term investments possible,"
Regan said. "The power sector will ... look at the cost benefit
of complying with those and more than likely stay with the
conclusion that ... clean energy is more cost effective for them
and for their customers," he said.
Biden's Democratic predecessor in the White House, Barack Obama,
was widely criticized by Republicans and fossil fuel advocates
for attempting to use the EPA to regulate the coal industry out
of business.
Last month, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision that
constrained the EPA's authority to take a system-wide approach
to decarbonizing the power sector, saying that such major
policies need Congressional support. A new law authorizing the
EPA to take such action is unlikely now due to deep divisions in
Congress over climate change.
Senate Democrats this week struck a deal to spend nearly $370
billion on climate and energy security after more than a year of
negotiation, representing a big compromise from Biden's initial
sweeping legislative ambitions.
The Supreme Court’s decision and Congressional resistance are
widely viewed as major setbacks to the Biden administration’s
efforts at climate leadership on the global stage. The United
States is the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases
behind China and Biden has been pushing international partners
to accelerate their transition to clean energy to fight climate
change.
Regan called the Supreme Court decision "out of step" with
public demands for quicker action on climate change, but added
that the EPA had been preparing for the outcome.
"We knew that with the makeup of this court, we weren't going to
get a favorable decision and so from day one, the Biden
administration has been working on solutions for designing
regulations for power plants," he said.
U.S. carbon emissions from the power sector have already dropped
sharply in recent years as utilities retire old coal fired power
plants in favor of natural gas, solar and wind power – a shift
driven by decreasing prices for these sources and state and
federal incentives for renewable energy.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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