Contact: Sasha Tenenbaum, stenenbaum@momscleanairforce.org, (917) 887-0146
Washington, DC—Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan announced new rules that would address carbon pollution from power plants. The proposed standards would hold the power sector responsible for carbon dioxide emissions and other forms of air pollution from new and existing coal and natural gas power plants, offering significant public health benefits and cost savings over time. In response to the announcement, Moms Clean Air Force Director and Co-Founder Dominique Browning released the following statement:
“With Mother’s Day approaching, the timing of this announcement – the mother of all power plant rules – could not be better. Parents and caregivers around the country are increasingly alarmed at the world our children are growing up in, a world increasingly destabilized by global warming. Fossil fuel power plants are a major source of climate-warming pollution, and we have a moral responsibility to support strong limits on smokestack emissions. Just last month, EPA released a sobering new report on climate change and children’s health highlighting in painful detail the ways climate change impacts our children’s well-being.
“Power plant smokestacks also release dangerous particle pollution, smog-forming nitrogen oxides, and other toxic air pollutants, all of which harm children’s health and disproportionately impact communities already overburdened by pollution. These overburdened communities—often communities of color and lower-income communities—are the same ones that will sustain the first and worst impacts of climate change.
“EPA’s leadership in addressing power plant pollution is vital to protecting all families and communities from the climate crisis and dangerous air pollution. Moms Clean Air Force, with a million and a half members, has been advocating for strong pollution protections from power plants for over a decade, and we will continue to push for the protections our children, our communities, and future generations deserve.”