Why EEI is trying to kill Biden's climate rule - E&E News by POLITICO
Why EEI is trying to kill Biden's climate rule - E&E News by POLITICO
The Edison Electric Institute filed a rare legal challenge Wednesday over EPA’s decision to base its new climate change rule on carbon capture and storage.
The move puts utilities in a potentially awkward position by disputing one of the Biden administration’s chief climate initiatives at a time when many power companies have committed to eliminating their greenhouse emissions by midcentury. It also means EEI, an influential trade group for large electricity generators, is arguing that carbon capture and sequestration technologies are not ready for deployment, even as some companies look to benefit from federal tax credits for adopting those systems.
The move represents a shift for a powerful industry group with a diverse membership of investor-owned utilities that seldom litigates over environmental rules. Indeed, even as EEI moved to challenge the rule, at least one of its members said Wednesday that it might defend it.
Two years ago, when states and the coal industry challenged the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court, EEI filed an amicus brief in defense of EPA’s regulatory authorities.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29