Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announces Monday that her department will now be allowed to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG’s) emissions, noting that the EPA has determined that GHG’s pose health risks to humans. When asked about climate change legislation being looked at in the Senate, Jackson replies that while she would like to see the Senate pass its bill soon, she will not put a timeline on lawmakers. (:35)

 

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announces Monday that her department will be allowed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions now that the EPA has determined that they pose health risks to humans. Jackson says that contrary to what critics of climate legislation are arguing, the intention of her announcement was simply to obey a 2007 Supreme Court decision that granted the EPA to regulate carbon emissions. (:16)

 

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Travis Martinez-University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

As the climate change summit in Copenhagen looms, analysts believe Obama’s efforts may end in disappointment.

Following Congress’ failure to finalize climate change legislation, it appears that the president will be showing up empty handed.

“My grandmother used to say ‘whenever you visit someone you shouldn’t come empty handed.’ As the American delegation heads to Copenhagen, they don’t have the legislation that they wanted or regulations towards some step of climate regulation,” said Ben Lieberman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Heritage Foundation, during a panel discussion at the National Press Club. “This time, the strategy was to get much more done domestically and then go to Copenhagen to make it international. As we know the bill has stalled in the Senate and it faces an uncertain future.”

Lieberman added that the formation of a significant treaty at the Summit is also unlikely.

“China and other fast developing nations, mainly China, don’t want binding and verifiable targets. The U.S. and other nations from the developed World have already come to the realization that emissions growth from these nations is growing so fast that exempting them would make a treaty almost pointless,” said Lieberman.

Lieberman called an EPA announcement earlier today declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant a “consolation prize” and “first stage of regulation beyond getting legislation.”

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lisa Jackson says during an a major announcement on Monday that passing climate legislation is the best way to address the issue of climate change. (:09)

 

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announces that her department will be allowed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, since it has determined that GHG’s pose health risks to humans. Jackson applauds the fact that the U.S. has finally joined billions of others around the world in the fight against climate change. (:41)

 

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In a major announcement, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson declares that her department will now be allowed to regulate greenhouse emissions under the Clean Air Act of 1970. (:16)

 

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson says that the threat of climate change is real. Jackson’s remarks came during a major announcement declaring that greenhouse gases do pose health risks to humans. (:13)

 

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Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced on Monday that her department will now be able to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

“I’m proud to announce that EPA has finalized its endangerment finding on greenhouse gas pollution…[and] is now authorized and obligated to make reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse pollutants under the Clean Air Act,” said Jackson.

The Clean Air Act, which was passed by Congress in 1970, allowed federal and state governments the ability to regulate emissions.

Moments after Jackson’s announcement, the EPA posted the following statement on its website: “After a thorough examination of the scientific evidence and careful consideration of public comments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.”

Supporters of climate legislation lauded the announcement. In a statement issued following Jackson’s remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “The EPA has thoroughly reviewed the scientific literature on climate change, which spans decades of research across a breadth of disciplines and across the globe. The science is clear: global warming is real, its impacts are being felt around the world, and carbon emissions present a danger to public health and the economy worldwide.”

Critics of both the climate bill passed by the House earlier this year and the one being looked at in the Senate questioned the timing of today’s announcement, arguing that it was heavily motivated by President Barack Obama’s visit next week to Copenhagen where he will take part in a major summit on climate change.

“This is nothing more than an attempt by the administration to build international support for a binding political agreement in Copenhagen. It seems liberal Democrats will stop at nothing to overcome the strong objections of the American people to a cap and tax system. Today’s decision will kill even more jobs at a time when more than 15 million workers are unemployed,” said House Republican Conference Chairman Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.).

Dr. Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America says the automobile industry’s fuel economy standards will change if the Environmental Protection Agency starts to regulate the market. (0:32)

 

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Dr. Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America explains why his organization believes the Environmental Protection Agency can do a better job of forcing the automobile industry to change fuel economy vehicles standards. (0:36)

 

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