By: Tracy Sabetta, Ohio State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: June 13, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Tracy Sabetta, and I am the Ohio state coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force. On behalf of our 90,000 members in Ohio, we strongly support EPA’s proposal to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants and ask that EPA finalize these standards as quickly as possible.
Fossil fuel power plants are responsible for almost one-quarter of the climate pollution generated by the US. The proposed rules would hold these power plants accountable for the climate-warming pollution being emitted, reducing total carbon emissions by 617 million metric tons through 2042. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions from 137 million passenger vehicles, roughly half the cars in the US.
The rules will also cut tens of thousands of tons of particulate matter (soot), sulfur dioxide, and ozone-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx). The 2023 American Lung Association State of the Air Report finds that eight of Ohio’s 10 most populated counties received grades of either D or F for ozone pollution. There are currently 152,000 children in Ohio who fight asthma every day. We need to be doing everything within our power to improve air quality and protect the health of our families.
Yet in Ohio, we are simply not doing it. While about 20% of electricity in the US comes from renewable sources, Ohio by contrast gets only 3% of our energy from renewables. According to the US Energy Information Administration, this puts us in 40th place out of 50 states for clean energy generation and gives us a ranking of 5th in the nation for total carbon emissions. We are passing state policies that create obstacles to carbon reduction, and we are not seeing air quality improvements at the same rate as others in the region.
In fact, we are already feeling the impact of this inaction. According to the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at the Ohio State University, one severe climate impact currently being seen in Ohio is a rise in overnight temperatures. Records for overnight temperatures were recently broken in four major Ohio cities, with Toledo, Akron, Mansfield, and Findlay setting records for average minimum summer temperatures. In 2022, Columbus had nearly 20 days of summer where the temperature hit or exceeded 90 degrees, reflecting many nights when morning readings didn’t drop below the low 70s. These blazing temperatures bring with them a stark impact on cooling systems, electric bills, and people’s health, specifically in frontline communities across the state. Now add the power outages experienced by many in Central Ohio into the mix and you have a climate change recipe for disaster.
Our state has failed us in enacting clean energy and climate legislation. States like Ohio will benefit greatly from the protections in the proposed power plant rules. We do believe that EPA must strengthen community input and safeguards in the final version of this rule, but the significant emissions reductions proposed will go a long way toward protecting our families from harmful air pollution that contributes to climate change and impacts health.
Once again, on behalf of the members of Moms Clean Air Force in Ohio, we support the proposed carbon rule and are counting on the EPA to finalize the strongest possible standards.