Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Thursday that the Obama administration is “moving at full speed” to implement a suite of regulations to combat climate change in the runup to climate negotiations in Paris.
The regulations are meant “to fulfill the commitment we owe to our children,” she said, reiterating that “climate change directly impacts public health.”
McCarthy was addressing the liberal Center for American Progress, which has close ties to the Obama administration. She said she was “excited” for the United Nations climate talks that begin Nov. 30 in Paris, which the EPA rules support.
The regulations include the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Obama’s climate change agenda, contentious ozone rules that critics say are the most costly in history, new rules for cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, and tighter emission rules for cars and trucks.
As McCarthy was speaking, EPA held a call with reporters to play up their efforts in getting states up to speed on the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to cut emissions by one-third by 2030. The rules are opposed by most Republicans and some Democrats for fear they will drive up energy costs and make the power system unstable.
Assistant Adminsitrator Janet McCabe said the climate rules place “states in the driver seat.” She said the EPA wants states to “succeed” in implementing the rules. She also said that taking action on clinate change is good for the economy and the ageny will be working with the states on ramping up a new incentive program to encourage them to ramp up solar and wind energy.
McCarthy told the Center for American Porgress that the solar energy industry is growing at 10 times the rate of other sectors. She also said that natural gas will be a key way for states to transition to the Clean Power Plan.
She said separate regulations for the oil and gas sector to control methane, a potent greenhouse gas, will be finalized next year to account for the increase in natural gas use, and to ensure that gas production is done in a way that does not create more emissions. Many scientists blame greenhouse gases created by the burning of fossil fuels for manmade climate change.
