According to the Washington Post, the "Obama administration told Congress to find a way to regulate greenhouse gases -- or else." The "next few months could bring a climax in the long-running debate over how to combat climate change, with the EPA trying to implement its rules and industry groups and opponents in Congress seeking to block it with lawsuits or legislation."
Energy legislation has been a highly debated topic in Congress recently. To read past Ag&Food Law and Policy blog posts on this issue, click here and here.
In January, EPA will begin regulation with new permits requiring "the largest factories and power plants to show they have installed the 'best available' technology to curb emissions. Smaller sources of greenhouse gases like shops, apartment buildings and bakeries are exempt."
Joshua Freed, director of the clean energy program at Third Way, stated that the EPA measures were "pretty modest steps" and "not much compared to what [the] legislation was set out to accomplish." Industry groups, however, say that if the EPA requires "aggressive cuts, the result could be crushing costs for businesses."
Any regulation by EPA will likely see resistance in Congress, with a bill introduced by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W. VA) that "would suspend the effort for two years" awaiting a vote.
To read the Washington Post story, click here.
Posted: 08/09/2010
