06 Aug Austin and the Clean Power Plan

For the first time in its history, the US now has federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions. For the first time, the federal government is demanding that the country take serious steps to combat climate change. For the first time, there is real hope that the United States could take a leadership position in fighting the biggest challenge of our time. 

This is all because of the Clean Power Plan, an EPA program to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants nationwide by about 32 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2030. President Obama released the final version of this plan on Monday. 

Here’s how the plan works:

• Under the plan, each state has been given an individual emissions reduction goal. (Texas’ is about a 21 percent reduction from 2012 emissions levels)
• It is then up to the states to decide how to reach those goals, by submitting their own emissions reduction plans by September of 2018. 
• Actual emissions reduction is then set to begin in 2022 and continue on to 2030. 
• But here’s the thing – states can refuse to submit their own plans, and in that case the EPA will impose its own federal plan on them. Several Texas lawmakers have already resisted against designing their own plan and have said that will instead be fighting the Clean Power Plan every step of the way.

In a written statement, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “President Obama continued his unilateral executive overreach by seeking to take unprecedented control over each state's power market through his new environmental regulations. Not only will this rule result in higher energy prices for consumers, it will cost thousands of jobs. As we have in the past, Texas will lead the fight against an overreaching federal government that seems hell-bent on threatening the free-market principles this country was founded on.” 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that he will continue to move forward with his plan to sue the Obama Administration over the Clean Power Plan.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the plan a, "lawless and radical attempt to destabilize the Nation’s energy system.”

Amongst Austin lawmakers, the reaction was dramatically different. After the final rule was announced the Sierra Club organized a rally in support of the plan featuring Austin Mayor Steve Adler, Texas State Representative Donna Howard, and several Austin city council members. Here is what they had to say: 

Texas State Representative Donna Howard (D-Austin) – “Some of my colleagues who are looking at this with some obstructionist kind of view points, need to understand that this is a very positive thing for our state and for our economy. We need to continue to be leaders in our country and in the world in the energy industry, and we can be!”

Austin Mayor Steve Adler – “While the time for action on climate and carbon pollution was long ago, I applaud President Obama and the EPA for making history by bringing forward the Clean Power Plan to put common sense limits on carbon pollution from power plants.”

Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen (District 5) – “People cannot be healthy if they are swimming upstream against an onslaught of environmental threats to their health, and that’s the bottom line.” 

Austin City Council Member Kathie Tovo (District 9) – “I want to say that though climate change is real, and we have so many devastating examples both here in this city and around the country, there is hope.”

Austin City Council Member Sabino "Pio" Renteria (District 3) – “We really need to say no to coal. Ya basta con coal.”

Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool (District 7) – “The Clean Power Plan is a flexible plan, and I call on our leaders in state government to put aside politics and collaborate to address the very real threats of climate disruption.” 

Austin City Council Member Greg Casar (District 4) – “If we care about the environment, we should care about an environment for everyone, and especially those children who live in food insecure households, those kids whose parents are having trouble making rent. This environment is their’s as well, it’s ours as well and if we don’t address climate change, it’s going to be most destructive to those families.” 

Austin City Council Member Delia Garza (District 2) – “On behalf of my newborn daughter, who will inherit this world and the decisions that we make today, and on behalf of the residents of District 2, I applaud President Obama and the EPA for bringing forward the Clean Power Plan and taking a bold stand to combat the carbon pollution that is driving these extreme weather events.” 

Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis – "It is our hope that the US Environmental Protection Agency and the State of Texas will now give our community credit for being early adopters and clean energy leaders for decades. After all, we were clean energy leaders before clean energy was actually cool."

In a press release, Austin Energy again applauded the Clean Power Plan, pointing out that Austin has been reducing its carbon emissions from power plants for years. The utility is already on schedule to get 55 percent of its power from renewables by 2025 and is working hard to retire its only coal-fired power plant in the near future. Since Austin Energy has been an early-adapter for all these years, the utility wants to ensure that it gets credit for being so far ahead of the curve. This is something that will be hashed out during the creation of the State Implementation Plan, if Texas decides to create one. 

The debate over this State Implementation Plan will be the next step in this whole process. Texas will need to decide if it is going to embrace the Clean Power Plan, or fight it. And then of course, a lot of discussion and debate will need to go into the specifics of the implementation plan itself (whether it’s at a state or national level). But for now, the important thing to remember is that for the first time, the US is taking real action. For the first time, the United States’ government is making a real effort to fight climate change.