"HOUSTON -- As Gina McCarthy spoke for a second straight year at one of the world's top energy gatherings, the U.S. EPA administrator defended a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions and told the power industry to focus on its ability to innovate.

McCarthy made a point at IHS CERAWeek here to outline the thinking behind EPA's Clean Power Plan, saying a low-carbon future is an 'inevitability.' She dismissed 'doomsday' scenarios she said won't happen because of the plan, which aims to use Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to seek carbon emissions reductions from power plants.

'There is absolutely no scenario, no standard, no compliance strategy that I will accept where reliability comes into question. Period. End of statement,' McCarthy said. 'EPA is considering all your comments that relate to stringency, timing, phasing in, looking at the glide path, and as we finalize this rule, we will continue to look at those comments and make appropriate adjustments.'"

Edward Klump, Nathanial Gronewold, and Mike Lee report for EnergyWire April 24, 2015. [2]