The Capitol Dome is seen behind the Capitol Power Plant in Washington, D.C., Monday, June 24, 2013. The plant provides power to buildings in the Capitol Complex. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama ordered his administration on Tuesday to end the practice of coal-fired power plants dumping unlimited carbon pollution into the Earth's atmosphere, moving to deliver on a major priority he laid out in his first presidential campaign and recommitted to a the start of his second term.
As he ordered regulators to crack down with the first-ever federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions from existing and new electricity generating stations, Obama also said the Keystone XL pipeline project from Canadian tar sands to Texas refineries should only be approved if it doesn't "significantly exacerbate" carbon pollution. Environmental activists have demanded that the administration not approve the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canadian tar sands to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Speaking on the politically charge topic of climate change at Georgetown University in Washington, Obama told students: "I refuse to condemn your generation and future generations to a planet that's beyond fixing."
Even before Obama unveiled his plan, Republican critics in Congress were lambasting it as a job-killer that would threaten the economic recovery.
As a preview, Don Stewart, a spokesman for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said imposing carbon rules on power plants amounts to a national energy tax.
"Will the president explain the massive costs to American jobs? Will the president explain how low-income Americans would pay for their new, higher utility bills?" Stewart said.
Obama dismissed the critics, saying, "That's what they said every time. And every time, they've been wrong."
American public opinion about climate change has proven a major barrier to addressing the issue. The Pew Research center released polling data Monday that showed just four-in-10 say the warming of the planet poses a major threat to the U.S. Pew said the finding makes "Americans among the least concerned about this issue of the 39 publics surveyed, along with people in China, Czech Republic, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Pakistan."
Obama raised climate change as a key second-term issue in his inaugural address in January, but has offered few details since. In his February State of the Union policy speech, he issued an ultimatum to lawmakers: "If Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will."
Obama said he wanted the United States to be the global leader in slowing the warming of the planet and insisted the country had the technological wherewithal to assume that role.
Obama also called for an end to U.S. support for public financing for new coal-fired plants overseas, with exemptions in the poorest nations as long as the cleanest technology available in those countries is being used. He's also pledged to work with major polluting countries like China and India to curb emissions, building on an agreement Obama struck recently with China's leader to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, potent greenhouse gases used in air conditioners and refrigerators.
Sidestepping Congress by using executive action does not guarantee Obama smooth sailing. Lawmakers could introduce legislation to thwart Obama's efforts. And the rules for existing power plants will almost certainly face legal challenges in court.
By expanding permitting on public lands, said he hopes the country can generate enough electricity from renewable energy projects such as wind and solar to power the equivalent of 6 million homes by 2020, effectively doubling the electric capacity federal lands now produce, senior administration officials said. He'll also set a goal to install 100 megawatts of energy-producing capacity at federal housing projects by the end of the decade.
Obama announced $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to spur investment in technologies that can keep carbon dioxide produced by power plants from being released into the atmosphere.
The lynchpin of Obama's plan involves new and existing power plants. Forty percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and one-third of greenhouse gases overall, come from electric power plants, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. The Obama administration already has proposed controls on new plants, but those controls have been delayed and not yet finalized. Tuesday's announcement was the first public confirmation that Obama plans to extend carbon controls to existing plants.
Obama also said steps much be taken to increase efficiency for appliances such as refrigerators and lamps, adding that stricter standards could reduce carbon pollution by more than 3 billion tons between now and 2030 - the equivalent of a half a year's worth of carbon pollution from power plants. Another component of Obama's proposal will involve ramping up hydropower production from existing dams.
A spokesman for major power companies said the industry long has understood the importance of addressing climate change and has been working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for two decades. The industry will consider whether new climate change policies and regulations "mesh" with its ongoing transition to a cleaner generating fleet and an enhanced electric grid, said Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, a group that represents power companies.
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