Obama's Climate Change Policy Presented

During President Obama's State of the Union address on January 28^th, he made his intentions clear that he would use his authority to continue to push forward new standards and regulations that would curb the amount carbon pollution US power plants are allowed to dump into the air. Further still, Obama stated that the United States must "act with more urgency" citing continuing climate changes which have seen droughts and floods affect North American cities in recent years.  Canadians must watch these developments for potential implications for business.

In furtherance of these positions, Obama has directed the EPA to issue a draft of a regulation that would set new national standards for carbon pollution by June 1^st of this year. It appears the brunt of these changes will target coal-fired power plants, likely forcing hundreds of plant closures throughout the country, and, as such, coal-heavy states have lobbied the EPA extensively with respect to the stringency of