The most significant impact of the EPA’s new fossil fuel regulations may be to persuade China of Barack Obama’s commitment to tackling climate change despite Congressional inaction

Last week the EPA announced new regulations that would cut greenhouse gasemissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. Bob Ward argues that while the new regulations are a step in the right direction, it will still require huge progress in the coming decades for the U.S. to reach the Obama administration’s target of an 83 per cent reduction in total annual emissions by 2050. He writes that the most important impact of the EPA’s new rules may be to persuade the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, of Obama’s commitment to addressing climate change despite Congress’ attempts to block any attempts to reduce emissions.