The success of President Obama’s second-term climate agenda hinges on a set of regulations now in the works at the Environmental Protection Agency.
His plan to combat global warming through new emissions standards and a shift toward increased renewable energy faces serious opposition from business groups, and Congress is steeling for battle.
But if the regulations survive the attacks — and subsequent legal challenges — they could amount to one of the president’s most consequential initiatives, his supporters say.
“He’s doing it with one hand tied behind his back,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, said in reference to opposition to the effort.
The centerpiece of Obama’s push is a set of regulations to limit greenhouse gas pollution from new and existing power plants, the source of about 40 percent of carbon emissions.
