Carbon emissions regulations to be phased in from 2011, US Environmental Protection Agency says

30 March 2010

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the regulation of carbon emissions from stationary sources will begin in January 2011, with further legislation coming in after that date, in order to give the facilities time to implement the technology.

The decision comes after an assessment of when the Clean Air Act regulations, which will require large-scale facilities to obtain clean air permits that cover greenhouse gases, would take hold.

The EPA said it has pledged to take sensible steps to address the billions of tons of greenhouse gas pollution that threaten Americans’ health but is providing time for large industrial facilities and state governments to put in place cost-effective and innovative technologies.

Lisa Jackson, EPA administrator, said it is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean Air Act.

‘It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments the time to prepare to cute greenhouse gases and it ensures that we don’t push this problem off to our children and grandchildren,’ she said.

‘With a clear process in place, it’s now time for American innovators and entrepreneurs to go to work and lead us into the clean energy economy of the future.’

The clarification comes as a final rule to negotiations that have been ongoing since November 2008.

Those first subject to the regulation are the largest emitting facilities with rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles due to be implemented from 2012.

The EPA’s aim to regulate carbon emissions has already faced strong opposition with Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson calling on Republicans to join a bipartisan effort to block the agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gases.

The move in February led to Peterson alongside House Republican JoAnn Emerson and Democrat Congressman Ike Skelton introducing a ‘disapproval resolution’.

The EPA has also proposed to add emissions data from oil and gas operations to a group of 31 other sectors it collects information from. This mandatory reporting system will cover 85 per cent of all US emissions.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: emissions

This story was published on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 12:54 pm and is filed under North America, energy efficiency, policy. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply