Obama vows to tackle climate change in major policy speech
Tue 25 June 2013
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In a major intervention on climate policy, President Obama has announced a far-reaching plan to tackle climate change which reports suggests will profoundly reshape the way the US produces and consumes electricity. It also includes the introduction of new fuel standards for trucks, following standards for cars and light vehicles which were announced earlier.
Obama sais in his speech at Georgetown University that he will direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create carbon standards for power plants. In his speech, Obama stressed that he will work with anyone to fight climate change, but that he has no patience for those who ignore it,
Mr. Obama also said he would approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline later this year if it didn't "significantly" increase net greenhouse-gas emissions. This remark was interpreted as meaning, in part, to blunt criticism that approving an oil pipeline would be at odds with his climate policy.
Obama's speech stirred strong reactions from business leaders: Manufacturers raised fears the plan would increase electricity prices and cut competitiveness, while the plan drew support from nuclear and other clean-energy companies that stand to benefit if greenhouse-gas emissions are restricted.
Though his initiatives do not require congressional approval, they face years of potential political and legal challenges, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In an attack on climate change deniers, Obama said: "We don't have time for a meeting of the flat-earth society".
He outlined a suite of steps the administration can take without the need for legislation that would begin to meet his goal of curbing greenhouse-gas emissions 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.
To read President Obama's full speech, click here.
In a separate but related development, the White House has raised the 'social cost of carbon' — a monetary estimate of the damages caused by carbon emissions — from $21 per metric ton to $35 per metric ton. Commentators say the move could allow the White House to move forward more effectively with greenhouse gas limits on power plants.
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