Obama to Call for Carbon Cuts at Power Plants
President Obama will announce new rules Tuesday to restrict carbon pollution at new and existing power plants, part of a comprehensive plan to combat climate change that he can put in place through executive action.
In a speech at Georgetown University, Obama will also direct the Interior Department to permit new wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects on public lands, enough to power more than 6 million homes by 2020.
New energy-efficiency projects are also part of the climate change plan, according to a blueprint provided by the White House.
In a video released Saturday announcing the speech, Obama said he would lay out “a national plan to reduce carbon pollution, prepare our country for the impacts of climate change and lead global efforts to fight it.”
Although “no single step” can reverse the existing effects of climate change, Obama said that “when it comes to the world we leave our children, we owe it to them to do what we can.”