Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) slammed the climate deal announced early Wednesday morning by President Barack Obama, contending it would hurt the American economy.
“Our economy can’t take the president’s ideological war on coal that will increase the squeeze on middle-class families and struggling miners," McConnell said in a statement emailed to TheBlaze.
[sharequote align="center"]"This unrealistic plan...would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs."[/sharequote]
"This unrealistic plan, that the president would dump on his successor, would ensure higher utility rates and far fewer jobs," he continued. "The president said his policies were on the ballot, and the American people spoke up against them."
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky holds a news conference on the day after the GOP gained enough seats to control the Senate in next year's Congress and make McConnell majority leader, in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"It’s time for more listening, and less job-destroying red tape," the senator, who is expected to be the next majority leader, concluded. "Easing the burden already created by EPA regulations will continue to be a priority for me in the new Congress.”
Obama announced Wednesday that the U.S. would move much faster in cutting pollution, with a goal to reduce by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. Earlier in his presidency, Obama set a goal to cut emissions by 17 percent by 2020.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country’s emissions are still growing as it builds new coal plants, didn’t commit to cut emissions by a specific amount. Rather, he set a target for China’s emission to peak by 2030, or earlier if possible. He also pledged to increase the share of energy that China will derive from sources other than fossil fuels.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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