The EPA's Climate Changing Pronouncement
Friday, April 17, 2009PAUL KANGAS: The Environmental Protection Agency today formally declared greenhouse gas emissions a danger to public health. That move could have a dramatic impact on many U.S. industries, including auto makers, energy companies and chemical makers. As Stephanie Dhue reports, the EPA has set up the next step, regulating those climate changing emissions.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Coal-fired power plants and vehicles are the nation's largest sources of climate changing pollution. Today's ruling sets up a process under the Clean Air Act for the EPA to regulate those emissions. Joe Mendelson of the National Wildlife Federation says that should happen quickly.
JOE MENDELSON, NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: What the EPA will do, hopefully, is say by a date certain, you've got to reduce your global warming pollution. It's not a question of waiting for technologies to appear. We know they exist.
DHUE: But business groups warn that regulating carbon emissions now would hurt the already fragile economy. William Kovacs of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says until there are technologies for capturing greenhouse gas and creating cleaner engines, the EPA should delay action.
WILLIAM KOVACS, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: If they do, that's going to make us a much more competitive world. We're going to have better auto industries and we are going to compete worldwide and that should be the goal of this as opposed to EPA being the big bad guy.
DHUE: But analyst Kevin Book says that big bad guy status could jolt lawmakers into passing climate change legislation.
KEVIN BOOK, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CLEARVIEW ENERGY PARTNERS: Every single time Congress goes home, the EPA is going to be leaning on the we're about to regulate you button and that's an extraordinarily powerful pressure, because the regulation that the EPA has very coarse tools at their disposal. It could cost lot of money if they go through with it.
DHUE: There are proposals already in Congress to regulate climate emissions by putting a price on them and setting up a cap and trade system. Under that system, Book expects coal to be the winner, getting the lion's share of carbon credits and oil and gas refiners, which generate 28 percent of carbon emissions, to draw only a small percentage of credits.
BOOK: The last three proposals to come out of Congress gave 0, 2 percent and 4 percent to refiners, so refiners are definitely going to be paying a net cost almost from day one.
DHUE: The debate will heat up next week when Congress returns. House lawmakers have set a July 4th deadline to pass climate change legislation, with the Senate expected to vote on the issue by the end of the year. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.
