Obama pledges strong climate action in State of Union address

During his annual State of the Union speech the United State President Barack Obama has again pointed to the many different ways he would use the executive branch to pursue strong action on climate change.

President Obama has previously told the US Congress that if it does not act on climate change then he will use his executive powers to take action.

The Washington Post newspaper reports the latest statements appear to be a good signal that President Obama intends to finish what he has started.

According to the Washington Post much of the debate regarding climate change in the US is about coal.

The newspaper says the oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants are already being retired, squeezed by cheap natural gas and ever-cheaper renewable energy on one side, and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on the other.

The Washington Post says in its report on the State of the Union speech that if the president keeps up the pressure, by the time he hands off to his successor coal will be on a permanently downward trajectory.

The newspaper quotes President Obama as saying; “Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth.

“But we have to act with more urgency, because a changing climate is already harming western communities struggling with drought, and coastal cities dealing with floods.

“That’s why I directed my administration to work with states, utilities, and others to set new standards on the amount of carbon pollution our power plants are allowed to dump into the air,” President Obama said.

The newspaper says that although the EPA still hasn’t even finalised its rule for carbon pollution from existing coal-fired power plants, it has managed to close down dozens of plants using rules governing mercury and particulate emissions.

Should it come out with an even slightly aggressive rule, it could force all coal plants to eventually shut down, and the newspaper says if phased in over a decade or so, the long-term benefits would be spectacular.

In an interesting manoeuvre President Obama also said he would use his authority under the Antiquities Act to dedicate new national monuments in an effort to deal with climate issues.

The Washington Post points out this could also be used to cut back on climate emissions, as former President Bill Clinton did when he used that authority to lock up 62 billion tonnes of coal with the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The newspaper says there are many such areas that could be protected with new monuments.

According to the Washington Post Mr Obama intends to make use of his final years in office to make a serious dent in climate emissions.

As he said during the address: “When our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.”

The newspaper points out legislation from Congress is still needed, badly, but at least somebody in the government is doing something about America’s most urgent long-term problem.