"I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy."
President Barack Obama State-of-the-Union Message Feb. 12, 2013
In the current partisan atmosphere in Washington, there appears to be almost no chance that this Congress will take significant action on climate change. What, then, are the executive actions that the Obama administration can take with its existing legislative authority?
