Cleaner and Cheaper: Using the Clean Air Act to Sharply Reduce Carbon Pollution from Existing Power Plants

http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution-standards/

A ground-breaking Natural Resources Defense Council proposal on how to cut carbon pollution from America's power plants can achieve even greater reductions than previously thought, and at less cost, an updated analysis of NRDC's initial 2012 plan shows.

NRDC's new analysis finds that that 470 to 700 million tons of carbon pollution can be eliminated per year in 2020 compared to 2012 levels, equivalent to the emissions from 95 to 130 million autos. At the same time, the NRDC approach would yield $28 billion to $63 billion in health and environmental benefits that far outweigh the costs of putting first-ever limits on carbon pollution.

By comparison, NRDC's 2012 analysis put those numbers at 270 million tons and $25-60 billion.

The improved outcomes result from updating the 2012 approach to reflect recent trends in the electricity industry, including lower electricity demand than previously expected and reduced costs for wind turbines, and natural gas.

Furthermore, the updtated analysis demonstrates there are various paths, not just one, to achieve dramatic reductions in the carbon pollution power plants release through a range of solutions that rely, to varying degrees, on energy efficiency, wind energy, and carbon capture and storage.

NRDC's original power plant carbon reduction proposal, released in December 2012, has been widely seen as a possible model for standards the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing as part of the Administration's National Climate Action Plan.

Climate and energy experts at NRDC have shown that the nation can create jobs, grow the economy and curb climate change by going after the largest source of climate-changing pollution: emissions from hundreds of existing power plants.

NRDC's proposal shows how the EPA, in partnership with the states, can set new carbon pollution standards under existing authority in the Clean Air Act that will cut existing power plant emissions 20 to 30 percent by 2020 (relative to 2012 emission levels).

The approach includes an innovative provision that will drive investment in cost-effective energy efficiency, substantially lowering the cost of compliance, lowering electricity bills, and creating thousands of jobs across the country. Further, NRDC's updated analysis shows that the benefits -- in saved lives, reduced illnesses, and climate change avoided -- far outweigh the costs, by $21 billion to $53 billion in 2020.