Speeches tend to have a high noise to signal ratio. This is my attempt to distill the action items from Obama's speech as they relate to containing emissions. It doesn't include disaster readiness and preparation for the effects of climate change. If you find any I've missed or have distilled clear action items from all the talk about more fraking natural gas, please post it in the comments.
1) I’m directing the Environmental Protection Agency to put an end to the limitless dumping of carbon pollution from our power plants, and complete new pollution standards for both new and existing power plants.
I’m also directing the EPA to develop these standards in an open and transparent way, to provide flexibility to different states with different needs,
2) Defer XL – study not done
3) Today, I'm directing the Interior Department to green light enough private, renewable energy capacity on public lands to power more than 6 million homes by 2020.
4) The Department of Defense -- the biggest energy consumer in America -- will install 3 gigawatts of renewable power on its bases, generating about the same amount of electricity each year as you'd get from burning 3 million tons of coal.
5) And because billions of your tax dollars continue to still subsidize some of the most profitable corporations in the history of the world, my budget once again calls for Congress to end the tax breaks for big oil companies, and invest in the clean-energy companies that will fuel our future.
6) Work on new CAFE standards for heavy eqpt
7) Your federal government will consume 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources within the next seven years. We are going to set that goal.
8) I'm calling for an end of public financing for new coal plants overseas -- - unless they deploy carbon-capture technologies, or there's no other viable way for the poorest countries to generate electricity. And I urge other countries to join this effort.
9) And I'm directing my administration to launch negotiations toward global free trade in environmental goods and services, including clean energy technology,