The Environmental Protection Agency, in its proposal this week to repeal the Clean Power Plan, ignores the full benefits of energy efficiency — a key strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Much of the repeal language focuses on a legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act that, if upheld, would likely take some of the best options for reducing emissions off the table.
The EPA also changes the calculus for determining the costs and benefits of the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration effort to limit emissions from power plants. Many of the changes are nuanced, but overall, the new analysis would increase the plan’s estimated costs and reduce its benefits—notably, the health benefits.
