California Officials Hail President Obama's 'Clean Power Plan'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Jerry Brown hailed President Barack Obama's "Clean Power Plan" announced Monday in a bid to address climate change, saying the nation needs less debate on the topic and more action.
The Clean Power Plan unveiled by Obama requires states to meet strict goals for reducing carbon emissions, based on each state's consumption. It also includes incentives for states that take early steps to deploy renewable energy systems.
"Today's Clean Power Plan will add to the benefits we're already seeing from our cities' strong leadership against climate change, including cleaner air and thousands of green jobs," Garcetti said in a joint statement with Houston Mayor Annise Parker.
Garcetti, Parker and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter co-founded the Mayors National Climate Change Action Agenda, which called for strong federal action on climate change.
Brown called the plan "bold and absolutely necessary."
"California is fully engaged in tackling climate change, and we look forward to working with other states and the White House as we implement these new mandates," Brown said.
According to the governor's office, the plan will cut pollution from existing power plants about 32 percent below 2005 levels in the next 15 years. Brown said the state is already on track to meet and exceed the plan's goals, with plans in place to reduce emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Republicans -- including presidential hopefuls Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush -- say the plan will drive up electricity costs.
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