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November 17, 2015

Moving Towards a Cleaner Future with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan

(Washington, DC) – A compilation of public comments on the EPA's Clean Power Plan (CPP), assembled by Democratic staff, shows wide support for the new rule by businesses, medical associations and state environmental regulatory agencies. Commitment to a Cleaner Future: A Selection of Public Comments on the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, provides a snapshot of public comments supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new rule.  The Clean Power Plan’s final rule was released on August 3, 2015 and will cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32 percent by the year 2030 compared to 2005 levels. 

The report is being released ahead of the Majority’s hearing, The Administration’s Empty Promises for the International Climate Treaty,” scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, November 18th at 10:00 a.m. The hearing is being held in advance of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference which begins at the end of this month in Paris, France.

The Clean Power Plan aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions, comprised primarily of carbon dioxide (CO2), which traps heat in our atmosphere and results in a warmer climate.  The scientific consensus is that human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere, are the primary causes of global warming.  This warming is expected to lead to more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, increased frequency and severity of floods, fires and droughts and threaten human health.

As the Democratic report, “Commitment to a Cleaner Future,” shows, the Administration’s Clean Power Plan is supported by a wide range of industry and public health leaders. The EPA received more than four million public comments on the new rule.  Please see the attached report for a selection of public comments supporting the Clean Power Plan, including comments by the Advanced Energy Economy, Philips, National Grid, Consumers Union, Gap, Inc., General Mills, Inc., Staples Inc., The Dannon Company Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Schneider Electric and the American Lung Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.