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Biden administration announces plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
The Biden administration proposed new regulations Thursday that if enacted would aggressively limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the second-most harmful source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. The move stands to force major changes in the energy sector and is likely to set up a legal battle with the energy industry.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the new standards would enable the sector to avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042, which officials compared to taking roughly half the 300 million cars in the U.S. off the road.
The EPA also estimates that the new rules would drastically improve air quality and public health, potentially avoiding more than 300,000 cases of asthma and 1,300 premature deaths every year by 2030.
“The public health and environmental benefits of this proposed rule will be tremendous and we have more than enough reason to be optimistic about what’s possible for the future of our nation,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said on a call Wednesday.
Power plants are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Electricity production accounts for 25% of greenhouse gases, just behind the country’s leading source — the transportation industry.
The majority of power plants in the U.S. are powered by fossil fuels. Last year, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, generated about 60% of all electricity in the U.S., while approximately 22% came from renewable energy sources — wind, hydro and solar power — and 18% from nuclear energy.
President Joe Biden vowed early in his administration to decarbonize the power sector by 2035 and make the nation’s entire economy carbon neutral by 2050.
But these new standards would require power plants to fundamentally change operations either by installing carbon capture and storage technology, which takes carbon dioxide produced by the burning of fossil fuels out of the air and places it back into the earth, or by abandoning fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources.
The EPA said that these proposed changes would result in “negligible” impacts to the price of electricity for consumers.
According to the International Energy Agency, there are currently 18 direct-air capture plants operating worldwide. Because the technology is so new, carbon capture is costly. In 2021, the first and only commercial power plant in the U.S. to utilize carbon capture technologies shut down outside of Houston after it was plagued by mechanical malfunctions and failed to meet its emissions targets.
In its latest annual report, the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change conceded that while carbon capture is key to unlocking a green future, technological improvements need to be made to make the technology more cost effective and energy efficient.
Senior administration officials said on a call Tuesday that by their calculations, tax incentives provided by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act should offset the cost of installing carbon capture and storage technologies. They also noted that the closed Texas plant which had been using carbon capture was reopening, in part thanks to those incentives.
President Biden’s two predecessors both had power industry regulations struck down by the courts.
Former President Donald Trump’s proposal to slightly cut plant emissions was overruled by a federal appellate court in 2021, and in 2016, the Supreme Court granted a stay on Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.
The new proposed rule is already facing some fierce opposition. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, in anticipation of Thursday’s announcement, railed against the Biden ad Wednesday that the Biden administration is “hellbent on doing everything in their power to regulate coal and gas-fueled power plants out of existence” and that he would not support any EPA congressional nominees until they “halt their government overreach.”
The EPA will take comments on these proposals from stakeholders for the next 60 days and hold a virtual public hearing before moving forward with potential legislation.
Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, has added a prominent defense lawyer to his legal team as Manhattan prosecutors work to return him from Pennsylvania to face a murder charge.
Mangione will be represented by Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement late Friday that she had been retained to represent Mangione. The firm said she will not be commenting on the case at this time.
According to her firm’s website, “A public servant for nearly three decades, Karen Friedman Agnifilo left the government as the Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, a role she held from 2014 through 2021.”
Mangione was arrested Monday after a customer at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person being sought by police in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson in Manhattan.
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Police say Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson was arriving for his company’s annual investor conference.
The New York Police Department told CBS News that there are no indications that Mangione was a UnitedHealthcare customer.
Mangione, 26, remained jailed without bail Saturday in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with gun and forgery offenses. Altoona is about 230 miles west of New York City.
Mangione’s lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has cautioned against prejudging the case and said that his client would contest his extradition to New York.
But Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Friday that there were indications Mangione may now give up on that fight.
“We going to continue to press forward on parallel paths, and we’ll be ready whether he is going to waive extradition or whether he is going to contest extradition,” Bragg said at an unrelated press conference in Times Square.
Hours after Mangione’s arrest on Monday, Bragg’s office filed paperwork charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she’s prepared to ask her Pennsylvania counterpart, Gov. Josh Shapiro, to intervene and issue a governor’s warrant requiring Mangione’s extradition if he does not agree to be moved voluntarily.
Mangione’s new lawyer has made frequent TV appearances, including as a CNN legal analyst, co-hosts a weekly podcast and is the legal adviser for “Law & Order.”
Her husband and law partner Mark Agnifilo is representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in the hip-hop mogul’s Manhattan federal sex trafficking case.
Isak Andic, the founder of Spanish clothing retailer Mango, one of Europe’s largest fashion groups with nearly 2,800 stores worldwide, died Saturday in an accident, the company said.
Photo by Foc Kan/WireImage via Getty
“It is with deep regret that we announce the unexpected death of Isak Andic, our non-executive chairman and founder of Mango,” the Barcelona-based company’s CEO, Toni Ruiz, said in a statement.
“Isak has been an example for all of us. He dedicated his life to Mango, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership and his unwavering commitment to values that he himself imbued in our company,” he added.
The company did not provide further details about the accident. Spanish media said the 71-year-old died after falling while hiking with several members of his family near Barcelona.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a post on social media, “My condolences to the family of Isak Andic, founder of Mango, on his tragic death in an accident in the Salnitre de Collbató caves.” He added, “All my love and recognition for your great work and business vision, which has turned this Spanish firm into a world leader in fashion.”
Mango traces its origins to 1984, when Andic, who is of Turkish origin, opened his first shop on the Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona’s famous shopping street, with the help of his older brother Nahman.
It was hugely successful. Spain had just emerged from a decades-long dictatorship that ended with the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, and consumers were hungry for more modern clothes.
“His departure leaves a huge void, but we are all, in some way, his legacy and the testimony of his achievements. It is up to us, and this is the best tribute we can make to Isak and which we will fulfill, to ensure that Mango continues to be the project that Isak aspired to and of which he would be proud,” Ruiz said.
Mango has consolidated its position as one of the leading international fashion groups, with a major presence in more than 120 markets and 15,500 employees worldwide, according to its website.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi underwent a successful hip transplant after being hospitalized during a trip to Luxembourg, her office said Saturday.
“Earlier this morning, Speaker Emerita Pelosi underwent a successful hip replacement and is well on the mend,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The operation was conducted at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base in Germany.
The spokesperson added, “Speaker Pelosi is grateful to U.S. military staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Landstuhl Army Base and medical staff at Hospital Kirchberg in Luxembourg for their excellent care and kindness.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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