This wasn't so much a hearing climate change as it was a hearing on the coming coal regulations. The coal rules loomed large over testimony from Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy in a climate change hearing at the U.S. House of Representatives. The rules are widely expected to set carbon dioxide limits and effectively require carbon capture technology on new power plant builds.
McCarthy would not reveal specifics on the new regulations. "The rule will provide certainty for the future of new coal moving forward, and in terms of existing facilities, coal will continue to represent a significant source of energy for decades to come," McCarthy testified, according to the Associated Press.
The opposition voiced fears that the rules will effectively ban new coal plants as carbon capture technology is not commercially available. Congressmen opposed to the coming rules claimed the Obama administration's rules set a dangerous precedent for U.S. energy policy, arguing the EPA is bypassing Congress by effectively mandating the deployment carbon capture and sequestration technology.
For the opposition, this is all part of the Obama administration's war on coal. "It is a signal that we are not going to build a new coal-fired power plant," said Rep. John Shimkus, Republican from Illinois.
Moniz and McCarthy, however, said they see a future for coal. Perhaps they were being diplomatic but they suggested the Obama administration is open to coal-fired generation if (and only if) emissions are greatly reduced.
It's not yet clear whether the new rules are intended to spur the industry to invest in the research and development of carbon capture technology or accelerate the fossil fuel phase-out and transition to renewables. We should know more on Sept. 20, when the new rules are expected to be announced.
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