The problem with Biden's new climate regulations
Welcome back to HEATED’s Tuesday news edition! Arielle and Emily here, reporting on the loopholes in the new EPA regulations, a Green New Deal author attending a fossil fuel-sponsored conference, and Montana’s new ban on climate analysis. Also, a tiny dog named Pua in a pink sweater. Today we’re also trying something new: leaving part of the article for paid subscribers only. We truly hate to paywall any of our content, but it’s been financially tough giving everything out for free. We hope you understand—and also hope that, if you value our reporting, you’ll consider a paid subscription. Each one goes a long way towards securing the future of our 100 percent independent climate newsroom. The problem with Biden's new climate regulationsThere's a climate justice loophole in the EPA's historic new power plant rules, according to a new analysis. Plus, some other news for the week.Last week, President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency announced the first-ever carbon pollution regulations for existing power plants. If implemented, the rules would require coal and gas plants to cut or capture nearly all of their emissions by 2040—a big deal, considering existing power plants make up about 25 percent of the country’s climate pollution. As such, most environmental groups and news organizations have hailed the new rules as a milestone for the clean energy transition. “This is one of the most important steps we can take to confront the climate crisis,” said Lissa Lynch, federal climate legal director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The Washington Post called the rules a “giant step” toward meeting Biden’s climate goals. But the EPA has also framed the rules as a win for environmental justice—and activists aren’t as sure about that. In a speech at the University of Maryland last week, EPA Michael Regan said the regulations “will bring substantial health benefits to communities across this country—especially frontline communities that have unjustly borne the burden of pollution.” Here’s the problem: The EPA’s new power plant regulations don’t actually apply to the vast majority of gas plants in the country. According to a new analysis by Shelley Robbins, project director at the nonprofit Clean Energy Group, the rules only affect frequently-used plants over 300 megawatts: 147 plants out of a total 3,400 fossil-fuel fired plants in the U.S. That leaves at least 61 million people, primarily in low-income communities or communities of color, living within 3 miles of a fossil fuel plant that won’t be required to reduce its emissions under the new rules, according to Robbins. These plants are known as “peaker plants”—and they are far dirtier than the large, existing baseload plants covered by the new regulations, Robbins said. Peaker plants are only used during a surge in electricity use, or a peak period. During a heat wave in summer, for example, peaker plants in cities across the U.S. fire up to handle the demand on the grid caused by air conditioners. Because they run more intermittently, and more quickly, then tend to be less regulated and release more pollutants into nearby communities, Robbins said. The EPA has said that rules for peaker plants may come later. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency “really focused on those most egregious sources [of pollution]. Some of the smaller sources, some of those peaker plants that run less frequently, we will be thinking about how we tackle those as well,” reported E&E News. (HEATED asked the EPA for comment but did receive one as of press time). But for Robbins, the fact that peaker plants are not included in the EPA’s power plant regulations casts a shadow over the EPA’s promise that the rules would right years of environmental injustice. We spoke with Robbins about her analysis; our Q&A with her is below. But first… Some climate news to start your week
And now, back to our regular programming. Here’s Shelley Robbins on why the new EPA regulations don’t apply to peakers; why peakers are dirtier than other power plants; and why the exclusion of these power plants is a form of fossil fuel racism. ... Subscribe to HEATED to read the rest.Become a paying subscriber of HEATED to get access to this post and other subscriber-only content. A subscription gets you:
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