The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) right to set legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and vehicles has been upheld by a federal appeals court.
The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in Washington agreed with the EPA that was “unambiguously correct” in regulating CO2 as a danger to public health under the existing Clean Air Act.
The rules would only affect new power plants and not existing facilities, which represent by far the greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
Both states such as Texas and Virginia, as well as companies and business groups, have sought to block the EPA’s action.
But now the court’s decision looks set to open the way for the EPA to complete its first national limits on emissions from new power plants, which were proposed in March this year, and bring in a new round of clean car standards later this summer.
The new car efficiency standards will require manufacturers to cut emissions by half and double fuel efficiency to 54.4 mpg by 2025.
For further information:
www.epa.gov
Related stories:
California to allow Quebec to join cap-and-trade programme (11-May)
EPA releases emission standard for new power plants (29-Mar)
US appeals court delays EPA air pollution regulations (4-Jan)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5224/
