This is good news and it will create a firestorm of criticism from the Koch Brothers and their wholly-owned political party, among others, including some Democrats. It's a courageous move and will help begin reductions of carbon. It also may impact the rest of the world with respect to what they do.
WASHINGTON — President Obama will use his executive authority to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s coal-fired power plants by up to 20 percent, according to people familiar with his plans, and will force industry to pay for the pollution it creates through cap-and-trade programs across the country.
Mr. Obama will unveil his plans in a new regulation, written by the Environmental Protection Agency, at the White House on Monday. It would be the strongest action ever taken by an American president to tackle climate change and could become one of the defining elements of Mr. Obama’s legacy.
Cutting carbon emissions by 20 percent — a substantial amount — would be the most important step in the administration’s pledged goal to reduce pollution over the next six years and could eventually shut down hundreds of coal-fired power plants across the country. The regulation would have far more impact on the environment than the Keystone pipeline, which many administration officials consider a political sideshow, and is certain to be met with opposition from Republicans who say that Mr. Obama will be using his executive authority as a back door to force through an inflammatory cap-and-trade policy he could not get through Congress.
New York Times
There will be judicial and political battles over this:
Obama's New Rules for Coal Plants Are a B.F.D. The Ensuing Political Fight May Be Even Bigger.
This is the right thing to do.