EPA’s New Carbon Emission Rules Expected To Face Legal Challenge

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its initial plan to cut carbon emission by 30%, in line with a pledge made by President Obama early in his presidency, with plans to finalize the rules by June 2015 requiring states to comply by June 2016. While the reductions aren’t as extreme as they seem at first glance, the rules will still meet legal opposition as the EPA changes its approach to regulating air pollution.

Carbon emission measured against 2005 levels

One of the energy industry’s biggest worries as it waited to hear the EPA’s proposal was the year it would use as a baseline. Energy consumption is closely...