In March, when President Obama chose Gina McCarthy, who previously served as the EPA’s chief air quality regulator, to lead the entire Environmental Protection Agency, Brad Plumer said she might well be the administration’s “most significant” nominee.
I still think that’s right, and now that McCarthy has been confirmed — she overcame Republican opposition and was approved late yesterday — it’s worth pausing to appreciate why McCarthy is so important.
The success or failure of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda now rests squarely on Gina McCarthy’s shoulders.
She’s charged with doing the things that Republicans warned she would do: Sweeping crackdowns on toxic pollution from power plants, a massive expansion of federal greenhouse gas regulations, and steps to stem the increasingly controversial water pollution problems caused by coal and minerals mining. Her work as EPA administrator may determine whether Obama’s legacy on climate change is a historic shift in carbon pollution or a fizzled effort, lost to lawsuits and bureaucratic fumbling.
No pressure.
Just last month, President Obama unveiled a sweeping policy on combating the climate crisis, using his authority under the Clean Air Act to, among other things, sharply reduce carbon pollution from power plants. It now falls on McCarthy to sharpen, defend, and enforce those public protections.









