By: Liz Hurtado, National Field Manager, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: July 8, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124-0001
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon. My name is Liz Hurtado, and I am a National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force and its Latino engagement program, EcoMadres. I’m also a proud Latina and a mother deeply concerned about the future we’re leaving our children. I am here today to strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to roll back the Carbon Rule.
Fossil fuel power plants are among the largest sources of climate pollution in the United States. The carbon pollution they release is fueling the climate crisis and threatening the health of our planet and our families. We are already living the consequences: rising temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, devastating droughts and floods, and sea-level rise. This is not a distant threat. It’s happening now and it’s getting worse.
As a mother and an advocate, I am deeply concerned about how climate change is harming our children. Today’s young people will live through at least three times as many climate-related disasters as their grandparents. The decisions we make right now will determine the kind of world our children and grandchildren inherit. We have a moral obligation to act.
Climate change affects more than just our physical health. It takes a toll on mental health, too. The trauma of losing homes, schools, or even loved ones during extreme weather events can leave lasting emotional scars. And many young people today live with constant, growing anxiety about the future. We must not ignore the heavy emotional and psychological burden the climate crisis places on our youth.
This burden is even greater for Latino communities and other communities of color, who are hit first and worst by climate disasters. These are the same communities already overburdened by industrial pollution and disproportionately exposed to harmful air pollution. That pollution is linked to serious health impacts including childhood asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, and even premature death. We cannot afford to let these injustices deepen.
The Carbon Rule is a critical tool to hold polluting power plants accountable and cut the greenhouse gas emissions fueling climate chaos. It will also help reduce other air pollutants that become even more harmful during extreme heat and wildfires, both of which are intensified by climate change.
We need strong climate pollution standards for power plants to protect our families and our future. Weakening these protections would be a step backward, risking lives and deepening environmental and health injustices.
I urge the EPA: do not repeal the Carbon Rule. We need bold, science-based action to tackle climate pollution now. The health and well-being of our families, our communities, and future generations are at stake.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.