President Donald Trump has systematically dismantled environmental regulations which were earlier put in place by his predecessor Barack Obama, including the Clean Power Plan. This plan called for cuts to greenhouse gas emissions from the power plants.
Now, a union of 22 US states and seven cities recently issued legal proceedings against President Donald Trump’s administration in order to block it from easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants.
The Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which was finalised in 2015, was put on hold by the Supreme Court and the White House ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to work on a less stringent replacement.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a news conference that this administration has decided to cancel the Clean Power Plan and replace it with a toothless substitute. He further added that President Trump’s attempt to gut the nation’s Clean Power Plan is just the wrong way to go.
The ACE rule would allow states to set their own standards for existing coal-fired power plants, rather than follow a single federal standard.
It foresees a far less ambitious overall reduction of power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 than the regulation it would replace.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, could end up at the Supreme Court.
Trump pulled the US out of the Paris climate change accord committing countries to mitigate global warming in his first year in office.
According to the Energy Department, coal consumption has plummeted to its lowest level in 40 years. US voters have rarely considered climate change a top-priority presidential election issue, but that is changing.
An April CNN poll labeled it as the single most important issue to Democratic primary voters, topping health care.
Image Credits – Time Magazine
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