Obama wants to squeeze out US coal power plants

The ‘fight against global warming’, as reported by AFP/Fox News below, is more like shadow boxing but the impact on the real US economy from the enforced shutting down of coal-fired power stations could be significant.

President Barack Obama will impose steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants across the country than previously expected, senior administration officials said Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the U.S. has ever taken to fight global warming.

The Obama administration is expected to finalize the rule at a White House event on Monday, a year after proposing unprecedented carbon dioxide limits. Obama, in a video posted on Facebook, said the limits were backed up by decades of data and facts showing that without tough action, the world will face more extreme weather and escalating health problems like asthma.

“Climate change is not a problem for another generation,” Obama said. “Not anymore.”

Initially, Obama had mandated a 30 percent nationwide cut in carbon dioxide emission by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. The final version, which follows extensive consultations with environmental groups and the energy industry, will require a 32 percent cut instead, according to White House officials.

Opponents said they would sue the government immediately. They also planned to ask the courts to put the rule on hold while legal challenges play out.

Full report: Obama set to announce steeper emissions cuts from US power plants | Fox News.

Comment: Once again the demonization of a harmless trace gas causes leaders to make irrational policy decisions. The US government has apparently learned nothing from the mistakes of EU countries trying to implement expensive policies that weaken their own economies and make their power supplies less reliable.