President Barack Obama along with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy unveiled the revised Clean Power Plan at the White House today.
Calling it 'a historic step' that has been undertaken by the Obama administration to tackle climate change, the Clean Power Plan is being considered as a landmark action that will protect public health, reduce energy bills for households and businesses, create jobs, and bring clean power to communities across the country.
According to BBC, the aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to establish the first-ever national standards by limiting the greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power stations by nearly a third within 15 years and placing significant emphasis on wind, solar power and other renewable energy sources.
The Clean Power Plan is also avowed to bring about significant public health benefits by reducing premature deaths from power plant emissions by nearly 90 percent in 2030 and decrease the pollutants that contribute to the soot and smog and can lead to more asthma attacks in kids by more than 70 percent.
The revised plan will drive significant new investment in cleaner, more modern and more efficient technologies, creating tens of thousands of jobs. Under the plan, by 2030, renewable energy resources will account for 28 percent of the country's capacity which will subsequently save the average American nearly 85 dollars on their energy bill, and save consumers a total of 155 billion dollars from 2020-2030, reducing enough energy to power 30 million homes.
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The Clean Power Plan includes provisions that require the states to meaningfully engage with low-income, minority, and tribal communities, as the latter develop their strategies under the proposed 'Federal Implementation Plan'.
Earlier in June, the White House had announced more than 4 billion dollars in private-sector commitments and executive actions to scale up investment in clean energy innovation, including the launching of a new Clean Energy Impact Investment Center at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to make information about energy and climate programs at DOE and other government agencies accessible and more understandable to the public.
The U.S. President sees this plan as the cornerstone of his attempt to secure a global treaty on climate change in Paris at the end of the year.
