Obama unveils new plans in fight against climate change

President Obama has announced plans to reduce emissions across the country with the introduction of new regulations. The president has revealed that more will be done to fight against climate change on a business and domestic level, by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced.

One of the first steps that president Obama said will be taken will be the introduction of measures that will limit the level of carbon emissions created by power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be introducing carbon pollution standards for power plants, in an effort to reduce emissions despite the lack of a federal environmental legislation that could result in a carbon cap. The rules could target thousands of coal burning power plants, which creates around a third of the total greenhouse gas emissions for the entire country.

President Obama said: "We limit the amount of toxic chemicals like mercury and sulphur and arsenic in our air and our water, but power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into the air for free. That's not right. That's not safe. And it needs to stop."

The president has also noted that construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that is designed to transport oil from Canada will be blocked if it is proven that it will contribute to climate change. However, a report from the State Department has said that the stopping of construction and ultimate use of the pipeline is unlikely to contribute anything to the fight against climate change. The lack of the pipeline would not stop the development of Canada's oil sands, which is the ultimate cause of any emissions.

President Obama said: "Our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. The net effects of the pipeline's impact on our climate will be absolutely critical to determining whether this project is allowed to go further."

Whilst the new focus on stalling the effects of climate change and reducing emissions have been met with positivity, some have argued that the ways in which president Obama wishes to achieve it - such as the possible halting of the Keystone XL pipeline - is not productive.