In case you missed President Barack Obama’s speech on climate change Tuesday, you can watch it on the New York Times website here.

The plan includes stricter controls on power plant emissions, changes that are expected to  impact Hawaii. 

Following the speech, Honolulu-based Blue Planet Foundation released a statement praising the plan and saying that it will help push forward state initiatives that never got off the ground: 

Hawai‘i has yet to adopt formal rules to reduce the state’s carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, in spite of an historic 2007 law mandating the reduction. With the rules in place, Hawai‘i’s emissions reduction would roughly track the carbon cuts called for by Obama.

In his announcement, President Obama also called for greater investment in clean energy projects, citing a goal to double the amount of renewable generation from wind and solar by 2020, enough to power six million homes. While announcing $8 billion in loan guaranties to advance clean technologies, the President also called to end U.S. financing of heavy-polluting coal plants in developing countries, saying, “They don’t have to repeat all the same mistakes that we made.”

The third key part of the President’s plan includes new efficiency standards for appliances and buildings that will reduce carbon pollution by three billion tons—the equivalent of half a year’s total emissions—by 2030. “That’s like planting 7.6 billion trees and letting them grow for 10 years all while doing the dishes,” President Obama offered. “That’s a great deal.”

Hawai‘i currently lacks state appliance efficiency standards. Stronger federal standards could save Hawai‘i residents tens of millions of dollars or more in reduced electricity costs.

Obama’s plan comes on the heals of a major new federal study outlining the effects of global warming. You can read more about how warming waters and rising sea level are impacting Hawaii here.

— Sophie Cocke