Client Alert
President Obama Announces Broad Climate Action Plan, with Power Sector GHG Emissions as Centerpiece
June 26, 2013
BY KEVIN POLONCARZ, MICHAEL BALSTER & BEN CARRIER
President Barack Obama unveiled a suite of measures and approaches contained in The President’s Climate Action Plan (or Plan) aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The Plan signals that regulation of GHG emissions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be a major focus of the President’s second term in Office and has significant implications for particular industries, most notably, for the electric power sector. The Plan also reaffirms the President’s commitment to “reduce U.S. [GHG] emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.” According to the Plan, the GHG mitigation measures outlined are designed to be collectively sufficient to achieve that overarching goal.