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On June 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled new regulations to limit America’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Using provisions of the Clean Air Act of 1970, which require the EPA to regulate pollutants, the EPA has laid out a series of regulations designed to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030. Successfully doing so will help America maintain its international commitments to reduce its carbon emissions and the Obama administration and environmental forces believe that it will encourage other nations to take action on climate change. Opponents of the EPA regulations argue that they unconstitutionally strip regulatory control of carbon emissions from Congress and warn that they will harm the nation’s economy. Since the EPA regulations will go into effect over the next four years, extempers should be prepared for questions about their implementation and effectiveness.
This topic brief will provide a brief background on U.S. climate change policy prior to the EPA regulations, break down the EPA regulations, and discuss whether the regulations could prove effective in the near future.
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