EPA clean power plan unneeded and wasteful

WASHINGTON , D.C.— This Earth Day, the United States had something to celebrate: We’re leading the world in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon emissions from the power sector are at 20-year lows, thanks to greater use of natural gas. Ozone levels have dropped 18 percent since 2000. Aggregate national emissions of six common air pollutants have fallen an average of 63 percent since 1980, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while our population, energy use and Gross Domestic Product have increased.

Does that mean we should rest on our success? Not at all. Innovative technologies advanced by the oil and natural gas industry and other sectors continue to drive progress. Since 2000, U.S. oil and natural gas industry investments in GHG-reducing technologies have totaled $90 billion, far more than the next largest industry sector ($38 billion) and almost as much as the entire direct federal spending on this sort of research ($110 billion). Rather than acknowledging this success and working to ensure market-driven environmental progress continues, the White House is pushing for new government policies that ignore market-based solutions in favor of duplicative regulations that threaten to undermine not only our economy but our success in reducing emissions. Record high production of natural gas has been integral to cutting carbon. Increased use of the clean-burning fuel accounts for over 61 percent of the reduction in emissions from power generation. Imposing new regulations could raise costs and discourage the very natural gas production that has lowered carbon emissions to levels not seen since the ‘90s.

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Also at risk are the economic benefits low-cost energy is bringing American businesses and families. U.S. household disposable income is up $1,200 per year, and costs for U.S. manufacturers are now 10 to 20 percent lower than those of European competitors. Proposed carbon regulations in the EPA’s Clean Power Plan also threaten to increase utility costs. More than two dozen states sued to prevent implementation of the mandate, which would push power plants toward adopting more costly and intermittent sources like wind and solar. Average retail electricity prices in 40 states could jump 10 percent if the plan moves forward while some states could see increases of 30 percent or more, according to NERA Economic Consulting. That’s significant economic risk to take on in the name of reducing emissions that are already at 20-year lows. On hold due to a Supreme Court stay, the Clean Power Plan perfectly illustrates the disconnect between much climate policy and reality; instead of embracing natural gas—a proven solution for lowering emissions that has decreased consumer costs—the Obama Administration seeks to pile on new regulations that are likely to raise costs and could even be less effective in reducing emissions. It doesn’t stop there. Late last year, the EPA finalized new regulations that could restrict business activity in any area where ozone levels exceed 70 parts per billion (ppb).

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For context, ozone levels in Yellowstone National Park are 66 ppb. Everything from manufacturing and energy development to infrastructure projects like roads and bridges could risk non-compliance and be halted or delayed—no matter that ozone levels are already down significantly under existing regulations and were projected to go even lower as those regulations were fully implemented. There's a cost when regulations are based on political ideology, not science. Economic growth, job creation, affordable energy for consumers, American energy security—all are in jeopardy from the regulatory avalanche. As the world leader in both emissions reductions and production of oil and natural gas, the United States is clearly doing something right. Policies that fail to acknowledge the facts behind that success pose unnecessary risks to the economy.