COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio House committee could vote today on a bill intended to limit the impact of a newly announced federal plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants 30 percent by 2030.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the rule Monday, part of President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing pollution linked to global warming.
The federal action would give states years to submit plans to cut power plant pollution.
Ohio’s bill would require any such plan coming from the state to protect electric affordability and reliability and to minimize harm to industrial, commercial and residential consumers.
Some states that rely heavily on coal have objected to the federal effort. Ohio gets 70 percent of its electricity from coal.
The new federal regulations have been hailed by many in the green-energy sector of the economy and public health officials.
Steve Melink, of the Milford-based clean-energy company Melink Corporation, says most climate scientists agree that carbon pollution is fueling climate change.
“The good news is that reducing carbon emissions is not difficult if we’re smart about it. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are cost-effective solutions. And just as important, these solutions are also good for our state and national economy, security and health,” he said.
“I think it’s clear that climate change and public health have an effect on one another, and certainly we feel that reducing carbon emissions will lead to a healthier community,” said Luke Jacobs of Columbus Health.
Opponents of the new regulations cite a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study which claims that they would result in the loss of nearly 32,000 jobs annually in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin and cost the economy in those states $7.4 billion a year.
“Ohio consumers and business owners along with the hard working men and women in the coal industry will all be hurt by these job-killing regulations,” said Eli Miller, Americans for Prosperity Ohio State Director.
According to the White House, carbon emissions from Ohio power plants decreased over 10 percent between 2008 and 2011, thanks to increased use of natural gas, but plants still released 94 million metric tons of carbon pollution into the air in 2012.
The White House also touted other energy initiatives underwritten by federal spending, including more than $6 billion spent on in clean coal technologies and 339 renewable energy projects supported in the state.