EPA has finally released its proposed
replacement for the Clean Power Plan, dubbed the Affordable Clean
Energy Rule. More affordable than clean, I'd say.
What's really telling is that EPA's own analysis shows
that the CPP would have delivered significantly more benefits than
ACE. And that goes for both direct benefits in GHG emissions
reductions and indirect benefits related to reductions in
traditional criteria pollutants.
First, with respect to GHG emissions, the ACE Rule
Fact Sheet states that it will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30
million short tons in 2025, yielding $1.6 billion "in
monetized domestic climate benefits." This statement is
interesting for at least two reasons. First, it acknowledges
that reducing CO2 emissions results in "monetized domestic
climate benefits." I guess climate change isn't a
hoax, after all. Second, ACE will yield less than 1/10 the
CO2 reductions that the CPP would have done, making that $1.6
billion seem fairly paltry.
