Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Praise Clean Power Plan
Statement
Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today on President Obama's Clean Power Plan, the first ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants.
"The Clean Power Plan is the most ambitious step ever taken by the United States. to address global climate change. While we already limit harmful power plant emissions like arsenic, mercury and sulfur dioxide, we've turned a blind eye to carbon. This plan will begin to undo some of the harmful effects that have gone unchecked in recent years and reduce carbon 32 percent below what they were in 2005.
"At the same time, we're setting a course for our nation to become energy independent while reducing our dangerous greenhouse emissions and creating clean energy jobs at home. By investing in energy efficiency and clean energy technology, we can reduce energy bills, boost our economy, and address climate change.
"The Clean Power Plan will also protect our health. The Environmental Protection Agency projects it will stop 3,600 premature deaths and prevent up to 90,000 asthma attacks in children. These health benefits will be especially important to communities of color, since they are more likely to live near environmental hazards like power plants and be exposed to air pollution from fossil fuels.
"We shouldn't sell our children's future for a few more years of oil and coal profits, and I applaud the president for leading on this vital issue."
As the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, power plants are responsible for roughly one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions. EPA's proposal, known as the Clean Power Plan and a part of President Obama's broader Climate Action Plan, puts our nation on track to cut carbon pollution from the power sector 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 -- the equivalent of 870 million metric tons of carbon pollution.
Source