Obama to mount major climate change push

[babylonsister]

Obama to mount major climate change push?

By Greg Sargent, Published: June 19, 2013 at 5:41 pm


A welcome scoop from the New York Times:

President Obama is preparing a major policy push on climate change, including, for the first time, limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants, as well as expanded renewable energy development on public lands and an accelerated effort on energy efficiency in buildings and equipment, senior officials said Wednesday.

Heather Zichal, the White House coordinator for energy and climate change, said the president would announce the new policy initiatives in the coming weeks. Another official said a presidential address outlining the new policy could come as early as next week. [...]

Ms. Zichal suggested…that a central part of the administration’s approach to dealing with climate change would be to use the authority given to the Environmental Protection Agency to address climate-altering pollutants from power plants under the Clean Air Act. She said that none of the initiatives being considered by the administration required legislative action or new financing from Congress…

Kevin Drum is cautiously optimistic that this could mean Obama is serious about making this a key focus of his second term, and adds:

The EPA can actually do a fair amount if it decides to. And Republicans know it: it’s one of the reasons they’ve held up the nomination of Gina McCarthy to head up the EPA. This announcement is likely to turn up the heat in that battle another notch or two.

That will also turn up the heat in the expected battle over whether Dems will revisit rules reform. McCarthy is one of the three key nominees (along with Obama’s picks for Labor Secretary and head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) that Dems have demanded Republicans stop obstructing, lest they exercise the nuclear option and do away with the filibuster on nominations by simple majority. This figures into the battle over rules reform in another way, too. The push to curb emissions on existing power plants — a key pillar of Obama’s climate change agenda — will likely be fought over bitterly in court. The arena will be the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Obama is pushing three judicial nominations that Republicans are also threatening to blockade.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/19/obama-to-mount-major-climate-change-push/

[cali]

1. I can heartily support that- as long as he doesn't green light the keystone xl pipeline

and hopefully this isn't a way of softening that.

[babylonsister]

6. Agreed. xl sucks! But this isn't an if/or situation. nt

[byeya]

2. Get back to me when 0bama stops the XL pipeline. Til then, Yawn.

[Buzz Clik]

4. your obsessions will be your undoing.

XL is a drop in the bucket.

[Buzz Clik]

3. I'll be damned.

About time.

[babylonsister]

5. Ya know what? THIS IS IMPORTANT! nt

[Major Hogwash]

7. Obama is going to push Congress to the left during the next 2 years.

He will get them on the record, so we can know who is helping the President and who isn't.

More than a 1/3rd of the Senate has changed in the last 5 or 6 years, which is the biggest change in the Senate in almost 75 years, so the change has been happening slowly, but surely.

[babylonsister]

8. Exactly, and it's about time the people who aren't helping are

called out. I'm tired of it.