Real Clear Energy: Holmstead and Thernstrom Doubt Clean Air Act’s Climate Power
New Thernstrom op-ed, with former EPA Air and Radiation Office head, suggests that a clean energy standard would be more durable
In Real Clear Energy, Bracewell attorney Jeff Holmstead, a former assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air and Radiation Office from 2001 to 2005, and EIRP CEO Samuel Thernstrom argue that “the Clean Air Act’s authority over power plant greenhouse gas emissions is weak, contested, and highly inefficient” and that a legislated federal clean energy standard would be more lasting and effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than continuing efforts at regulation. And, they suggest, if a new law allowed states to choose between a CES or existing policies, it could win political support.
For additional information, see Thernstrom’s related EIRP Working Paper, “Clean Energy Standards: Securing the Future of the Electric Power Sector.”