From Politico:
The Obama administration is set to roll out a series of climate and pollution measures that rivals any president’s environmental actions since George H.W. Bush signed a rewrite of the Clean Air Act in 1990 — a reality check for Republicans who think last week’s election gave them a mandate to end what they call the White House’s “War on Coal.”
Tied to court-ordered deadlines, legal mandates and international climate talks, the efforts scheduled for the next two months show that President Barack Obama is prepared to spend the remainder of his term unleashing sweeping executive actions to combat global warming. And incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will have few options for stopping the onslaught, though Republicans may be able to slow pieces of it.
The coming rollout includes a Dec. 1 proposal by EPA to tighten limits on smog-causing ozone, which business groups say could be the costliest federal regulation of all time; a final rule Dec. 19 for clamping down on disposal of power plants’ toxic coal ash; the Jan. 1 start date for a long-debated rule prohibiting states from polluting the air of their downwind neighbors; and a Jan. 8 deadline for issuing a final rule restricting greenhouse gas emissions from future power plants. That last rule is a centerpiece of Obama’s most ambitious environmental effort, the big plan for combating climate change that he announced at Georgetown University in June 2013.
http://www.politico.com/...
And there's more. President Obama is expected to soon pledge billions of dollars to help developing countries rein in CO2 output.
AND, in June of next year, Obama's EPA will be releasing the final version of its rules for cutting greenhouse gases from the United States' existing power plants. This is the heart of POTUS' environmental agenda.
AND, his Interior Department, this spring, will be releasing new regulations governing mountain top removal mining.
AND, Obama is working on an international global warming agreement to be signed by multiple countries, in Paris, at the end of next year.
I can't really think of a better strategy - not just for the planet, but for Democrats. According to the Politico article (can you believe it??:)), it will be difficult for the Goposaurs to stop these initiatives.
Update 1 - 11:11pm ET:
From jan4insight in the comments:
Breaking news all over twitter right now - Obama brings the Chinese onboard with agreement for deep emissions cuts.
An excerpt from the
Washington Post:
BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Obama struck a deal Wednesday to limit greenhouse gases, with China committing for the first time to cap carbon emissions and Obama unveiling a plan for deeper U.S. emissions reductions through 2025.
China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, pledged in the far-reaching agreement to cap its rapidly growing carbon emissions by 2030, or earlier if possible. It also set a daunting goal of increasing the share of non-fossil fuels to 20 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...