Just a few days after it was unveiled, US President Barack Obama's revolutionary plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-burning power plants is already facing tough opposition from the ground.

Sixteen states led by West Virginia banded together to call for the suspension of Obama's so-called "Clean Power Plan" as they threaten to drag the proposal to a legal battleground.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and 15 other state attorneys general sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Gina McCarthy appealing that the carbon emission reduction plan be put on hold while the proposal is being questioned before the courts.

"These regulations, if allowed to proceed, will do serious harm to West Virginia and the US economy. That is why we are taking quick action to bring this process to a halt," Morrisey said.

Morrisey is also leading the plan to sue the Obama administration for the climate change action plan, which some state attorneys general argue overstepped the executive's bounds.

Using a recent ruling of the high court against the administration's mercury limits, critics of the" Clean Power Plan" also plan to assail the proposal by saying that states should not have to start preparations to comply with a rule that may eventually get junked by the courts.

"This rule represents the most far-reaching energy regulation in this nation's history, drawn up by radical bureaucrats and based upon an obscure, rarely used provision of the Clean Air Act. We intend to challenge it in court vigorously," Morissey said.

Obama's plan against greenhouse gas emissions seeks to provide incentives for states that meet standards on low-income energy efficiency and renewable energy.