President Obama Throws Down The Gauntlet On Federal Climate Change Action

Yesterday President Obama publicly reengaged the climate change debate in a speech announcing a series of big and small executive branch actions comprising his administration's new "Climate Action Plan" (or CAP). The CAP follows on the promise made in his February State of the Union speech to act to address climate change if Congress is unwilling or unable to adopt market-based legislation to put a price on carbon or establish a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and invest in a transition to a low-carbon economy.

But make no mistake. Yesterday's speech and the suite of CAP actions should not be characterized as an announcement of executive actions that bypass Congress. It is a document explaining how President Obama intends to pick a political fight with Congress over climate change legislation. In fact, the vast majority of the CAP actions being discussed are not new. What is new is the administration's willingness to tackle the issue