OBAMA AIDE MAKES NO PROMISES ON GHG LIMITS FOR EXISTING PLANTS

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
3/1/13

The President’s top energy and climate aide stopped short this week of confirming that the Obama Administration plans to move forward with limits on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Feb. 27, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal remained vague about the specific executive tools the White House is considering to limit climate change—as promised by Obama during his State of the Union address last month if Congress fails to act. She said the Environmental Protection Agency and its Clean Air Act flexibilities are a “bright shiny object,” but underscored the importance of moving forward on addressing climate on several fronts, including energy efficiency efforts and R&D work. “It would be wrong to fall into the trap that one tool is going to get us to the 17 percent target,” Zichal said, referring to the target set by the Administration at a 2009 United Nations summit in Copenhagen to cut emissions 17 percent emissions below 2005 levels by the end of the decade.

Zichal said the President will likely lay out his climate and energy agenda in the weeks and months ahead. She indicated that one of the first orders of business will involve EPA finalizing greenhouse gas emission performance standards for new power plants, a plan that will occur ahead of any regulations targeting existing sources if the White House chooses to pursue such as path. “You can’t put the cart before the horse,” she said. EPA said it received more than 2 million comments on the March 2012 proposal. “We have to remember here that even the standard on new coal-fired power plants is something that’s never been done before and is going to shape the future of the power sector, so it’s not an insignificant undertaking,” Zichal said.

Zichal repeatedly referred to Obama’s Feb. 12 State of the Union address, in which the president urged Congress to pursue a “bipartisan, market-based solution” to climate change, but vowed to move forward using his executive authority if Congress does not act “soon.” She said the President is open to proposals from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress that could put a dent in emissions. “From our vantage point following the State of the Union address, our expectations of Congress couldn’t be clearer. Now it’s ultimately up to them to choose which path to take,” she said, adding that the White House hopes to “engage in a thoughtful and constructive dialogue” about how to act and would be willing to consider everything from broad proposals like a clean energy standard to smaller measures related to energy efficiency.