US action to reduce emissions from power plants
Source: https://phys.org/news/2023-05-biden-administration-curb-emissions-power.html
Author: Issam AHMED
Starting from 2030, the proposal would target fossil fuel electricity production with increasingly stringent carbon reduction requirements, including compelling some coal plants to directly capture pollution from their smokestacks. "In every corner of our nation, Americans are seeing and feeling the devastating impacts of climate change," Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan said at an event announcing the draft rules. "It's clear that we've reached a pivotal point in human history, and it's on all of us to act right now to protect our future."
US power plant emissions have been declining, thanks to a drop in the cost of renewables. But they are still responsible for a quar of greenhouse gasses produced by the world's largest economy. That has made it a prime target for Biden, who has pledged to cut emissions from electricity production to zero by 2035. "I think this rule is important by declaring that the era of unlimited carbon pollution from power plants is over," Dan Lashof, director of World Resources Institute, United States, told AFP. The proposed standards "mark a pivotal turning point," with the EPA "rightfully and necessarily moving to hold coal- and gas-fired power plants to account for their ongoing carbon pollution," added Julie McNamara of the Union of Concerned Scientists.