New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte says she’s backing a new federal regulation aimed at cutting back significantly on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Ayotte is the first Republican Senator to back President Obama’s so-called Clean Power Plan.
She tells NHPR’s Morning Edition that leaders in her own party are wrong to try to block the plan from taking effect.
"I've carefully reviewed this plan, I've met with stakeholders in New Hampshire, including members of the business community, environmental groups, people who are interested in this rule. Then I looked at what does New Hampshire have to do to comply, and we are well on our way to meeting the targets that are in this plan."
The plan calls for a 32 percent reduction nationwide in carbon emissions by 2030, but sets individual goals for states.
New Hampshire has a roughly 15 percent target reduction during that time.
Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat who will challenge Ayotte for her seat next year, has already come out in support of the plan.
Two dozen states, most of which are heavily reliant on fossil fuels, have filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking to overturn the rule.
