FALL 2013
President could make huge progress by
incentivizing developing nations to invest in clean energy moving forward.
What is the Climate Action Plan, exactly? The President’s remarks at Georgetown outline three main objectives. The
first aims to “cut carbon pollution in
America” and sets a target of reducing
American carbon emissions to seventeen
percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This
objective also includes a pledge to double renewable energy usage – which accounted for 11.7% of the United States’
total usage in 2012 – in that same timeframe. Though the Climate Action Plan
points out that the United States doubled
energy production from wind, solar, and
geothermal sources during the President’s
first term, the GOP has called the plan’s
extensive use of federal agencies and raising of fuel economy and energy efficiency
standards “an attack on the middle class.”
While somewhat hyperbolic, these criticisms are not entirely baseless. Though
the Administration claims that the tougher
fuel economy standards will save the average driver $8,000 over the lifetime of a
vehicle, a study by the Center for Automotive Research estimates that if industries
meet the Obama administration’s mark of
54.5 mpg by 2025, a new car will cost the
average buyer $9,000 more than it would
today. Furthermore, the study claims, the
new standards could reduce car sales by
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