Following on the heels of the release of the National Climate Assessment, President Obama and Administration officials have been touring the country to meet with local government and business leaders to tout the President’s Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare for the impacts of climate change and build a clean energy economy. The next milestone in the President’s plan is to propose a rule to reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants. The official title of the expected rule for electric utilities, which is being developed under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, is Carbon Pollution Guidelines for Existing Power Plants: Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Stationary Sources.
The proposed rule will reportedly allow states and companies flexibility in how they will achieve greenhouse gas reductions, including via carbon trading. "EPA has been working really hard to understand how we can make this rule both aggressive in terms of the amount of reductions it can achieve, as well as make it implementable and reasonable for every state to participate," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy during a May 19 Google+ Hangout. Further, during a roundtable discussion with local and business leaders in Seattle on May 22, the Administrator reportedly said, “My goal is not to preempt governments; it's to enable them.”