Lindsay Kalter
GHG Monitor
2/8/2013
The Obama Administration must significantly ramp up its emissions reduction efforts in order to reach its stated goal of achieving a 17 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, particularly in the absence of congressional action, according to a new analysis released this week by the World Resources Institute. The report discusses four levels of action on greenhouse gas emissions: “lackluster,” “middle-of-the-road,” “go-getter” and “business-as-usual.” Only in the most aggressive scenario can the Obama Administration reach its 17 percent reduction goal, the report concludes. “The reductions actually achieved will depend on the level of ambition brought to the effort by the U.S. Administration, including executive agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” according to the analysis.
The analysis recommends that the Obama Administration take up measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act’s existing executive authority—the most significant being the regulation of emissions from existing power plants. “The U.S. EPA should immediately pursue ‘go-getter’ emissions reductions from power plants and natural gas systems using its authority under the Clean Air Act. These two sectors represent two of the top opportunities for substantial GHG reductions between now and 2035,” the report states. In addition to setting stringent standards for existing plants, the report recommends that the Obama Administration enact measures to phase out the use of certain hydrofluorocarbons commonly found in refrigerators and air conditioners, set standards for methane reductions from natural gas systems and increase energy efficiency in industrial and residential appliances.
Report Largely Ignores CCS as Mitigation Option
The report splits its analysis into what the Administration can do to limit emissions for new and existing power plants. For the latter, the report lists reduction options that include fuel-switching, increasing operations of gas plants and decreasing those of coal plants, and using more renewables. However, the report does not include the retrofit of carbon capture and storage technology onto fossil fuel generation as an effective option for existing sources. “These reductions could be recognized through a range of different programs such as fleet-wide averaging, rate-based trading programs, a portfolio of measures, or cap and trade,” the report states.
Related to new sources of fossil fuel generation, the suggested role of CCS is nearly as small, with the analysis focusing more on alternative energy generation. In the most proactive scenario for how to deal with new sources, more than 2.5 times more new generation capacity will be online by 2035 compared to the base case. The report projects an energy portfolio that consists largely of nuclear, renewables and natural gas, with a trend toward “low-or no-carbon” installations. The report adds that “the only coal units built under this scenario have carbon capture and storage technology installed.”
CCS’ lack of prominence in the report is notable given WRI’s typically strong support of the technology. The think tank has a program in place aimed at working with policymakers and industry to clear the hurdles associated with the deployment of CCS, and the group is a member of the recently-created ENGO Network on CCS, an informal coalition of think tanks and NGOs looking to further the development of CCS. “CCS is a critical option in the portfolio of solutions available to combat climate change, because it allows for significant reductions in CO2 emissions from fossil-based systems, enabling it to be used as a bridge to a clean and sustainable energy future,” WRI says on its website.
Pressure Mounts for Administration to Act
WRI’s analysis is the latest in a string of efforts from lawmakers, environmental groups and NGOs pushing President Obama to regulate greenhouse gas emissions of existing sources during his second term while also finalizing a proposal for new sources introduced last spring. The Natural Resource Defense Council released a proposal in December encouraging the Obama Administration to take similar action, which it said would reduce emissions 26 percent by the end of the decade. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) launched a bicameral task force last month aimed at formulating recommendations for how the President can limit climate change without Congressional action, which the pair said during a press conference would include boosting standards for new and existing power plants. Other environmental and public health groups have also pushed for action in letters to the Administration.
There has been some speculation that Obama will outline plans to regulate existing sources during his State of the Union address next week, though it is unclear to what extent he will focus on the issue. During his inaugural address last month, Obama delighted environmentalists when he unexpectedly brought up the issue of mitigating climate change. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,” Obama said Jan. 21. “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, crippling drought and more powerful storms.”
