Colorado’s governor John Hickenlooper (D) has abandoned a clean air executive order aimed at curbing #Climate Change, attributing today’s decision to strong pushback from Republicans.
The executive order, which would bypass the legislature, seeks to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants by 35 percent.
Hickenlooper believes “the potential benefits were outweighed by the collateral damage,” given the GOP’s strong concerns it would hurt the state’s economy.
The governor’s executive order is nearly identical to the Clean Power Plan written by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the behest of President #Obama and anti-fossil fuel groups.
Currently 28 states, the coal industry, and over a hundred groups are suing the EPA, calling the CPP unconstitutional for bypassing the Congress and rolling out new law impacting an entire industry.
The Supreme Court suspended the implementation of the CPP pending the outcome of the litigation. But that hasn’t stopped EPA chief Gina McCarthy from telling Democratic-led states to pursue to the goals in the CPP.
Study: EPA Overstated Benefits And Ignored Costs of Clean Power Plan https://t.co/E5Dlhz2CR9 pic.twitter.com/8Usqus8Iyj
— The Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 17, 2016
Bypassing the courts
Hickenlooper believes his executive order for reducing CO2 emissions will meet the goals of the now-postponed CPP. It requires Colorado to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-powered plants by “35 percent by 2030, compared with 2012 levels.”
