Obama's sweeping new power plant rules spark a 2016 campaign fight over climate change

President Barack Obama's sweeping new power plant regulations are thrusting the divisive debate over climate change into the race for the White House, with candidates in both parties seeing an opportunity to capitalize.

To Democrats, rallying around climate change is a way to energize liberal supporters and paint Republicans as out of touch with the majority of Americans. To the GOP, Obama's executive actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions are burdensome to business and block job creation, an argument aimed at tapping into Americans' worries about the economy.

The president unveiled the plan at the White House on Monday, calling it the "single most important step" the U.S. has taken to combat global climate change.