WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is planning to scrap former President Barack Obama's signature plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the power plants in the US, contending that the previous government overstepped its legal authority, a media report said today.
In a 43-page proposal, which is likely to be made public soon, comes months after President Donald Trump instructed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin rewriting the controversial 2015 regulation, known as the Clean Power Plan, 'The Washington Post' reported.
The agency has said it plans to seek public input on how best to cut emissions from natural-gas and coal-fired power plants. A central piece of Obama's environmental legacy, the 'Clean Power Plan' aims to slash the greenhouse-gas emissions that are fueling the planet's rapid warming. It was also an integral part of the commitment US officials made as part of a historic international climate accord signed in 2015 in Paris, from which Trump has said he intends to withdraw.
In a copy of the proposed repeal, first reported by Bloomberg News, the EPA does not offer an alternative plan for regulating emissions of carbon dioxide, which the Supreme Court has ruled that the agency is obligated to do, the Post said.
"Any replacement rule that the Trump administration proposes will be done carefully and properly, within the confines of the law," EPA spokesperson Liz Bowman was quoted as saying in the report. The Clean Power Plan directed every state to form detailed plans to reduce carbon emissions from such sources as coal-fired power plants, with the goal of decreasing carbon pollution by about one-third by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.