EPA Administrator Stumps For Climate Change Plan During Wisconsin Visit

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said Wisconsin would have plenty of flexibility in cutting carbon dioxide emissions if a proposed federal plan becomes law.

The EPA’s climate change proposal would cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants roughly 30 percent below 2005 levels. The comment period on the plan was recently extended to Dec. 1, as many industry groups continue to raise objections.

McCarthy said the proposed rule would give states options.

“It’s … leaving the discretion to states on how to get those reductions effectively,” said McCarthy. “So they actually grow their economy and they understand the energy complexities they have to deal with.”

One Wisconsin group raising concerns about the climate change plan is the state’s largest business group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. WMC’s Eric Bott said that for one thing, growing carbon emissions in China may nullify any cuts the U.S. makes.

“But the costs associated with it are quite significant,” said Bott. “Estimated costs in fact in Wisconsin are somewhere between $10 and $20 billion by 2030.”

Bott also contends the reliability of electricity in the state could be threatened if more transmission lines aren’t built and a planned growth of renewable energy doesn’t ramp up as fast as hoped.