Trump plans to scrap Obama's GHG reduction plan

US President Donald Trump plans to scrap his predecessor Barack Obamas signature plan for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from the nations power plants, arguing that the previous administration overstepped its legal authority, the media reported.

A 43-page proposal, which is expected to be made public over the coming days, comes months after Trump issued a directive instructing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to begin rewriting the controversial 2015 regulation known as the Clean Power Plan, reports The Washington Post.

In a copy of the proposed repeal, the EPA does not offer an alternative plan for regulating carbon dioxide emissions, which the Supreme Court has ruled that the agency is obligated to do.

Rather, the agency said that it plans to seek public input on how best to cut emissions from natural-gas and coal-fired power plants.

"Any replacement rule that the Trump Administration proposes will be done carefully and properly, within the confines of the law," EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said in an email on Thursday.

The Clean Power Plan was an integral part of the commitment US officials made as part of a historic international climate accord signed in 2015 in Paris, from which Trump has said he intends to withdraw, The Post reported.

It directed every state to form detailed plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from such sources as coal-fired power plants, with the goal of decreasing carbon pollution by about one-third by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.

--IANS

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