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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Climate change: Obama to unveil Clean Power Plan | Climate change: Obama to unveil Clean Power Plan |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| US President Barack Obama is due to unveil what he called "the biggest, most important step we have ever taken" in tackling climate change. | US President Barack Obama is due to unveil what he called "the biggest, most important step we have ever taken" in tackling climate change. |
| The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. | The aim of the revised Clean Power Plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions from US power stations by nearly a third within 15 years. |
| The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources. | The measures will place significant emphasis on wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources. |
| However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. | However, opponents in the energy industry have vowed to fight the plan. |
| They say Mr Obama has declared "a war on coal". Power plants fired by coal provide more than a third of the US electricity supply. | They say Mr Obama has declared "a war on coal". Power plants fired by coal provide more than a third of the US electricity supply. |
| The revised plan will aim to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. | The revised plan will aim to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. |
| Analysis - Matt McGrath, environment correspondent | |
| President Obama's Clean Power Plan is the practical aspect of his lofty rhetoric on tackling global climate change. | |
| Late last year, the President announced, with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, that both nations would significantly cut their carbon emissions. He also pledged, earlier this year, that the US would adopt new targets on limiting warming gases in an effort to secure a UN climate deal. To make both these pledges happen, coal fired electricity across every US state will have to be reduced. | |
| These steps will also shore up US credibility in the international climate talks arena. | |
| Many nations harbour suspicions about the US, as the country refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol - the world's previous attempt to rein in carbon dioxide. | |
| There is also lingering suspicion among smaller countries after the debacle of Copenhagen in 2009, when Obama and other leaders attempted to foist a deal on the 196 parties involved in the UN process. It didn't end well. | |
| The President's new plan comes at a crucial time in the run-up to Paris, where a deal is expected to be signed in December. The UN is struggling to cut down a negotiating text that still runs past 80 pages, and only 49 countries have so far made public their declarations. The US Clean Power Plan will be a boost to the process and to efforts to get the others to declare their hands. | |
| Each US state will have an emission-cutting goal assigned to it and must submit a proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency on how it will meet the target. | Each US state will have an emission-cutting goal assigned to it and must submit a proposal to the Environmental Protection Agency on how it will meet the target. |
| The BBC's Tom Bateman in Washington says President Obama will be hoping that Monday's announcement secures his legacy on climate change. | The BBC's Tom Bateman in Washington says President Obama will be hoping that Monday's announcement secures his legacy on climate change. |
| The measures, our correspondent says, would give the president the moral authority he needs to argue for global reductions in greenhouse gases at a major conference in Paris later this year. | The measures, our correspondent says, would give the president the moral authority he needs to argue for global reductions in greenhouse gases at a major conference in Paris later this year. |
| However, several state governors are already saying they will simply ignore the plans. | However, several state governors are already saying they will simply ignore the plans. |
| In face of the criticism, the White House said the release of the plan was "the starting gun for an all-out climate push" by the president and his cabinet. | In face of the criticism, the White House said the release of the plan was "the starting gun for an all-out climate push" by the president and his cabinet. |
| Hillary Clinton vow | Hillary Clinton vow |
| In a video released by the White House, Mr Obama said the new limits were backed up by decades of data showing that without action the world faced more extreme weather and escalating health problems. | In a video released by the White House, Mr Obama said the new limits were backed up by decades of data showing that without action the world faced more extreme weather and escalating health problems. |
| "Climate change is not a problem for another generation. Not any more," Mr Obama said. | "Climate change is not a problem for another generation. Not any more," Mr Obama said. |
| "My administration will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan, the biggest, most important step we have ever taken to combat climate change." | "My administration will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan, the biggest, most important step we have ever taken to combat climate change." |
| Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she would defend the plan if she was elected to replace Mr Obama. | Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she would defend the plan if she was elected to replace Mr Obama. |
| "It will need defending. Because Republican doubters and defeatists - including every Republican candidate for president - won't offer any credible solution," she said. | "It will need defending. Because Republican doubters and defeatists - including every Republican candidate for president - won't offer any credible solution," she said. |
| "The truth is, they don't want one." | "The truth is, they don't want one." |
| One Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, said the plan would be "catastrophic," while another, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, said the plan was "irresponsible and over-reaching". | One Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio, said the plan would be "catastrophic," while another, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, said the plan was "irresponsible and over-reaching". |
| Correspondents say the emphasis on renewable energy sources marks a significant shift from the earlier version of the plan that sought to speed up a transition from coal-fired power to natural gas plants, which emit less carbon dioxide. | Correspondents say the emphasis on renewable energy sources marks a significant shift from the earlier version of the plan that sought to speed up a transition from coal-fired power to natural gas plants, which emit less carbon dioxide. |
| It is believed the revised plan will aim to keep the share of natural gas in US power generation at current levels. | It is believed the revised plan will aim to keep the share of natural gas in US power generation at current levels. |
| Power stations are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the US and account for about one third of all such US emissions. | Power stations are the largest source of greenhouse gases in the US and account for about one third of all such US emissions. |