The day climate watchers have all been waiting for is arriving. Monday, August 3, President Barack Obama will unveil the final climate rule for the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which will ultimately switch the power grid from mostly fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
In a video memo to America on Sunday, Obama called it the “biggest most important step we’ve ever taken to combat climate change.”
The video highlights that power plants are the single biggest source of carbon pollution, dumping unlimited amounts of carbon into the air. There have never been any federal limits to the amount of pollution they pump out year after year.
Now, Obama says, that’s about to change.
He encouraged America to get involved and push communities to be more sustainable. “We can do this,” he inspired. “It’s time for America and the world to act on climate change.”
Climate Goals
Previously, Obama vowed to double wind and solar electricity generation by 2020 and directed the Department of Interior to permit enough renewable electricity generation to power more than 6 million homes.
He also took the lead in international diplomacy and domestic actions to stimulate action around the world.
The effect of these changes has increased solar capacity in the United States by 20-fold and provided a spike in solar PV (a method for converting solar energy into electricity) employment in America and around the world.
Since announcing his landmark Climate Change Action Plan in 2013, the president’s administration has been working with states and power companies to ensure they have the flexibility to cut pollution, while lowering energy bills, ensuring reliable service, and provide new innovative employment.
In addition, the United States and China, the two biggest carbon pollution emitters, last year jointly announced targets for carbon pollution reduction after 2020. The two countries jointly agreed to implement a “first-of-its-kind 380 MW concentrating solar plant in China.”
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