WASHINGTON -- EPA chief Gina McCarthy will unveil a proposal for the nation's first-ever carbon emissions limits on existing power plants Monday at 10:30 a.m. at EPA headquarters.
McCarthy said last week that Obama had indicated he might personally announce the rule, but a White House official said, today, Obama would not be joining McCarthy for the announcement. Instead, Obama will dedicate his weekly address on Saturday to the carbon pollution rule, the official said. Also on Monday, Obama will participate in a conference call hosted by the American Lung Association with the public health community.
According to some rumored studies and/or earlier proposals by anti-coal organizations, the Obama White House hopes to reduce the percentage of U.S. electricity generated by coal to 14% by 2030 from about 40% now.
According to a study released on Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, if implemented, these rules threaten to suppress the average annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $51 billion and lead to an average of 224,000 fewer U.S. jobs every year through 2030, relative to baseline economic forecasts. In addition, U.S. consumers will pay nearly $290 billion more for electricity between 2014 and 2030, or an average of $17 billion more per year, with much of the economic burden placed on the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the country.