Carbon Pollution Standards

Carbon Pollution Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, proposed in June 2014, would limit carbon pollution from existing power plants.

Electric power generation is responsible for nearly 40 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions – making it the largest single source. Reducing power sector emissions is a key part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. His June 2013 presidential memorandum directed EPA to set standards for both new and existing plants.

Under the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, each state has its own target (due to regional variation in generation mix and electricity consumption). Overall, the rule is designed to cut emissions 30 percent from 2005 emissions by 2030, with an interim target of 25 percent on average between 2020 and 2029.

In September 2013, EPA released a “Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants,” replacing a March 2012 proposal. EPA proposed standards for coal- and natural gas-fired plants (measured as tons of greenhouse gas emissions per megawatt-hour of elec­tricity produced) that states would apply at each regulated plant.

EPA will issue the finalize rules for the Clean Power Plan for existing power plants and the Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants in the summer of 2015.

Explore the issues and options involved in EPA regulation of carbon pollution from power plants through the following resources.

C2ES Resources

• Brief: Modeling EPA's Clean Power Plan: Insights for Cost-Effective Implementation (May 2015)
• Report: Canadian Hydropower and the Clean Power Plan (April 2015)
• Infographic: Canadian Hydropower and the Clean Power Plan (April 2015)
• Blog: 5 Ideas for EPA's Clean Power Plan (December 2014)
• C2ES Comments on Proposed EPA Rule for Existing Power Plants (December 2014)
• Brief: Cross-State Electricity Load Reductions Under EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan (November 2014)
• Cornerstone Article: Carbon Pollution Standards for New and Existing Power Plants and Their Impact on Carbon Capture and Storage (September 2014)
• Map: Energy efficiency in the Clean Power Plan (August 2014)
• Map: Renewables in the Clean Power Plan (June 2014)
• Map: Proposed state emission rate targets (June 2014)
• Q&A on EPA Greenhouse Gas Standards for Existing Power Plants (Updated February 2015)
• Graphic: Policy options to reduce carbon emissions in the power sector (June 2014)
• Blog: EPA’s proposed carbon standard for power plants is stringent and flexible (June 2014)
• Event: Carbon Pricing: State and Federal Options (May 2014).
  See video of the event, and relevant slides from Dallas Butraw, David Bookbinder, Brian Turner, and Jon Brekke
• C2ES Comments on Proposed EPA Rule for New Power Plants (May 2014)
• Brief: Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants: Key Challenges (May 2014)
• Brief: Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants: Issues and Options (March 2014)
• Q&A on EPA Greenhouse Gas Standards for New Power Plants (Updated February 2015)
• Blog: EPA’s Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: What are the Facts? (January 2011)
• Brief: Events Leading to Regulation of Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act (March 2010)

External Resources

• Jonas Monast et al., Enhancing Compliance Flexibility under the Clean Power Plan: A Common Elements Approach to Capturing Low-Cost Emissions Reductions (Durham, NC: Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, 2015). 
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Carbon Pollution Standards webpage.
• Presidential Memorandum – Power Sector Carbon Pollution Standards
• Megan Ceronsky and Tomas Carbonell, Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act: The Legal Foundation for Strong, Flexible & Cost-Effective Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants (Washington, DC: Environmental Defense Fund, 2013).
• Samuel D. Eisenberg, Michael Wara, Adele Morris, Marta R. Darby and Joel Minor, A State Tax Approach to Regulating Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act (Washington, DC: Climate and Clean Energy Economics Project at Brookings, 2014).
• Georgetown Climate Center, Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants: State Opportunities and Potential Benefits (Washington, DC: Georgetown Climate Center, 2013).
• Daniel Lashof et al., Closing the Power Plant Carbon Pollution Loophole: Smart Ways the Clean Air Act Can Clean Up America’s Biggest Climate Polluters (Washington, DC: Natural Resource Defense Council, 2013).
• Daniel Lashof and Starla Yeh, Cleaner and Cheaper: Using the Clean Air Act to Sharply Reduce Carbon Pollution from Existing Power Plants, Delivering Health, Environmental, and Economic Benefits (Washington, DC: Natural Resource Defense Council, 2014).
• Jonas Monast et al., Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Existing Sources: Section 111(d) and State Equivalency, 42 Environmental Law Reporter 10206 (Washington, DC: Environmental Law Institute, 2012).
• James McCarthy, “EPA Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants: Many Questions, Some Answers.” Congressional Research Service (CRS). R43127. November 15, 2013.
• Stephen Munro, EPA's Clean Power Plan: 50 chefs stir the pot (Washington, DC: Bloomberg New Energy Finance, 2014).
• National Conference of State Legislatures, States Reactions to Proposed EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards webpage.
• Conrad Schneider, Power Switch: An Effective, Affordable Approach to Reducing Carbon Pollution from Existing Fossil-Fueled Power Plants (Boston, MA: Clean Air Task Force, 2014).
• Robert Sussman, Power Plant Regulation under the Clean Air Act: A Breakthrough Moment for US Climate Policy? (Charlottesville, VA: Virginia Environmental Law Journal, 2014).
• Jeremy M. Tarr, Jonas Monast, and Tim Profeta, Regulating Carbon Dioxide under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act: Options, Limits, and Impacts (Durham, NC: Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, 2013).
• Gregory E. Wannier et al., Prevailing Academic View on Compliance Flexibility under § 111 of the Clean Air Act, RFF Discussion Paper 11-29 (Washington, DC: Resources for the Future, 2011).