EPA Opens Comment Period for Historic Carbon Rule

Environment America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Agency officially opened a comment period today for its proposed rule to limit carbon pollution from power plants. Scientists warn that extreme weather will continue to worsen without dramatic cuts in the carbon pollution fueling global warming.

The rule, proposed on September 20, would place the first ever national limits on carbon pollution from new power plants. Power plants are America’s largest single source of carbon pollution.

“If we want a safer climate and future for our kids, we can’t keep building dirty power plants,” said Julian Boggs, federal global warming program director for Environment America. “We’ve got to rein in unlimited carbon pollution and pave the way for wind, solar and energy efficiency to power our future.”

The proposed rule represents the first major benchmark in the implementation of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan unveiled in June. A recent report from Environment America Research & Policy Center found that a large portion of America’s carbon pollution comes from a small number of the dirtiest plants. For example, if the nation’s 50 most carbon-pollutingpower plants were a sovereign nation, they would emit more carbon than all but 6 other nations on Earth. 

“This rule is a milestone and will set the stage for a shift away from dirty power plants, and investment in clean renewable power that Americans demand,” said Boggs.

The Obama administration is expected to propose a rule to limit carbon from existing power plants by June 2014, and to finalize that rule the following year.

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