E&E News: “How the Climate Bill Could Strengthen EPA Regulations”
RFF Senior Fellow Alan Krupnick quoted in an article about the Inflation Reduction Act.
But improving the “cost” column of its regulatory analysis may not be enough to give EPA comfort that a rule based on CCS — or on hydrogen — would withstand likely legal challenges that could extend to the Supreme Court. The Clean Air Act requires EPA to also demonstrate that its chosen “best system of emissions reduction” is “adequately demonstrated.”
Neither CCS nor hydrogen is in widespread use for power generation, which might present a barrier.
Alan Krupnick, director of the industry and fuels program at Resources for the Future, said EPA might argue that the climate bill’s funding would lead to broader demonstration of those technologies. But that might be hard.
“Until all this funding starts having some real-world impact, it’s all, you know, prospective and aspirational,” he said.
But the economic incentives should spur innovation and deployment that might help these technologies ripen enough to form the basis of future EPA carbon rules, Krupnick said.
