Still Hope for the Clean Power Plan

Due to the new administration and lengthy legal battles, Obama’s Clean Power Plan is considered by many as over. Jennifer Ludden, As Obama Clean Power Plan Fades, States Craft Strategies to Move Beyond It, www.npr.org (Jan. 25, 2017) However, all is not lost.  Regardless of who is in the White House, certain states have decided to go ahead with the plan in efforts to lower carbon emissions to slow climate change. Id.

The Clean Power Plan would have required energy plants to reduce carbon emissions, and forced each state to develop their own strategy on how they would reach their target emission level. Id. The plan was created as a way to abide by the Paris climate deal the United States signed under Obama, in 2015. Id. Signing the Paris deal sparked several states to sue and block the implementation of the agreement. Id.

New York is one of the states that has decided to continue with its plan to reduce carbon emissions. Id. Gov. Cuomo states, “We are not going to stop until we reach 100 percent renewable because that’s what a sustainable New York is really all about.” Id. The state is investing in many different types of alternative energy, such as: solar, electric car charging stations, wind farms, etc. Id. Critics however state that due to cheap natural gas it will be difficult for renewables to stay in business.

http://www.npr.org/2017/01/25/511616327/as-obama-clean-power-plan-fades-states-craft-strategies-to-move-beyond-it