In a statement made on October 9th by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Administration will officially repeal the Clean Power Plan.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Wirzba emily@fcnl.org Direct: 202-903-2518
October 9th, 2017, Washington, DC –
Today, Scott Pruitt announced that the Administration will take steps to repeal the Clean Power Plan. Withdrawing this rule will accelerate climate disruption and expose millions of Americans to increased levels of atmospheric pollutants. FCNL strongly denounces this decision for the harm it will cause the Earth and humanity.
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary for FCNL, made the following statement:
“The Friends Committee on National Legislation is profoundly disappointed by President Trump’s decision to withdraw the Clean Power Plan. Climate disruption threatens present and future generations on a breadth and scale unlike any challenge humanity has faced. As people of faith, we are especially concerned about the impacts of climate change upon the most vulnerable peoples. The Clean Power Plan is the strongest action ever taken by a U.S. president to address human caused emissions of greenhouse gases; it is an important first step to ensuring a thriving future for our children and Earth. With this action, the President is taking us backward in the essential work that we have in the United States to reduce emissions. For the sake of our future and our Earth, the U.S. must remain a global leader and contributor to the solutions of climate change.”
The Clean Power Plan sets emission standards for power plants within the United States and would reduce emissions from electricity generation to 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule allowed individual states to set their own plans for meeting the emissions reductions goals and received bipartisan support in Congress.
Administrator Pruitt’s announcement of withdrawal is contrary to the legal mandate for the EPA to regulate climate pollution. This mandate was solidified under the Supreme Court’s precedent setting decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which found that greenhouse gasses are air pollutants and fall under the regulatory charge of the Clean Air Act.
The elimination of the Clean Power Plan also reduces the likelihood that the U.S. will meet its emissions reductions goals set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement. While President Trump has announced his intent to withdraw from this landmark agreement, the U.S. has an obligation to lead the international community in its efforts to address climate change.
It could take months for the formal repeal process to be completed. There will need to be a public comment period for stakeholders to submit what they think a replacement plan should include, and it is likely that the new rule proposed by the Administration will face years of litigation in the courts. We have a moral obligation to stand with vulnerable communities and reverse the climate crisis that places a disproportionate burden on women and children, communities of color, low-income communities, and tribal nations both in the US and globally. We urge the President to work within his administration and with Congress to develop and implement bipartisan solutions that will reduce emissions, protect God’s creation, and care for the most vulnerable communities.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation, the oldest registered religious lobby in Washington, is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest. FCNL works with a nationwide network of tens of thousands of people from every state in the U.S. to advocate for social and economic justice, peace, and good government.
