White House signals tougher scrutiny of climate rules

Under a new regulatory framework unveiled Tuesday, the Obama administration will subject upcoming climate change rules to additional analysis to ensure they are not overly burdensome to the business community, a senior administration official said.

President Obama signed an executive order Tuesday requiring a government-wide review of all existing rules and laying out new standards for pending regulations. Under the framework, all rules must be cost-effective, transparent, science-based and not unduly burdensome.

A senior administration official said Tuesday that the regulatory framework will apply to upcoming climate change rules, which industry and business groups have said will result in significant economic harm.

But the official stressed that the administration will still move forward with climate regulations because the Supreme Court ruled that greenhouse gases must be regulated under the Clean Air Act if they are deemed to endanger public health and welfare. The Environmental Protection Agency made such a determination in 2009.

“We’re going to comply with the law, insofar as the law requires action,” the official said Tuesday.

The official said the administration will ensure that it is lowering greenhouse gas emissions through the “least burdensome approaches.”

The new regulatory framework will also require additional cost-benefit analyses of the upcoming climate regulations. In addition, the EPA will need to ensure that it offers businesses “flexible means” to meet new climate standards that “reduce burdens on the private sector,” the official said.

The Obama administration announced a timeline for phasing in greenhouse gas standards on large power plants and refineries last month. The specific standards are still being developed.

Obama, in an op-ed Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal, argued that the benefits of his administration’s major environmental regulations outweigh their costs.