“Hopeful News on Earth Day” – EPA Will Reportedly Propose Limits on Climate Pollution from Power Plants

"We welcome news reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing clean air standards to curb the massive amount of climate pollution released from the smokestacks of new and existing fossil fuel power plants – the source of about a quarter of all our greenhouse gas emissions. With EPA’s earlier proposal to limit methane pollution from oil and gas industrial facilities, and the agency’s proposal earlier this month to reduce tailpipe pollution from new cars and trucks, America will be taking important actions to address the three largest sources of climate pollution.

“Power plant smokestack emissions pollute the air in our communities and worsen extreme weather. But there is good news. Our nation is at an inflection point where clean power is now our leading new source of electricity generation. Last year electricity generation from renewable energy surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time, and the Energy Information Administration finds increases in U.S. electricity generation are expected to come ‘almost entirely from solar and wind.’ States across the country – including Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and California – are seeing extensive growth in clean energy. Clean power is now also the most affordable option, and funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating its adoption.

“This is hopeful news on Earth Day. It brings us closer to a clean energy future that will provide healthier air, a safer climate, affordable electricity, and good jobs.”

            - Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund