Clean Power Plan Key Message Points
Use hashtags -- #ProtectCleanAir or #ProtectCPP
We oppose Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan. We support the Clean Power Plan because it sets flexible and achievable limits on otherwise unlimited dumping of carbon pollution from power plants into our air and it encourages the development of clean, renewable energy allowing states to develop their own plans. We believe this plan is a critical step toward reducing our climate pollution and being responsible stewards of God’s earth.
Faith communities have been gathering comments and testifying in favor of this plan for years, because it’s a matter of climate justice and a historic step towards protecting all of God’s Creation. We must preserve the sanctity of God’s Creation. Our country has been blessed with natural resources, and it’s our responsibility to maintain the purity of our air, water, and land.
People of faith have a moral obligation to care for and protect our children and future generations by addressing the effects of climate change and carbon pollution, especially as they wreak havoc on the poorest and most vulnerable among us.
Some are fighting to weaken or eliminate the Clean Power Plan. Lets protect the people, not the polluters. Let us make the right and moral choice to implement sensible climate solutions that speed the transition to a just and equitable clean energy economy.
As stewards of Creation, we must do better if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Our children deserve a stable climate and a sustainable future. We believe that a swift and equitable transition to clean energy is a moral imperative, and cleaning up our nation’s power plants is a critical first step.
Thousands of clergy and communities of faith representing Interfaith Power & Light’s network of 20,000 congregations stand in support of the Clean Power Plan and other efforts to safeguard our climate, our health, and all of Creation.It’s really quite simple: if we love our neighbors, we won’t pollute their air or water.
As people of faith we call for “just transitions” that involve a wide swath of those affected by the changes to work together for solutions.
As we look for cleaner energy solutions, we must simultaneously work to address the economic challenges faced by coal miners and their families in this transition. We can do both and it doesn’t require a false choice between economic protections and health protections.
American innovation can solve the challenge of reducing the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change and threatens our health and economy. We do not have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment; we can have both.
Administrator Pruitt’s decision to repeal pollution limits for power plants will take our country backwards: the deadly and destructive hurricanes and wildfires that have gripped the country over the last few months demonstrate the real economic and human toll of supercharged extreme weather events.
Repealing the Clean Power Plan will also slow down our transition to clean energy, which is good for our economy and creates jobs. It will expose Americans to more dangerous pollution from power plants and will make climate change worse.
The Clean Power Plan is projected to prevent 90,000 asthma attacks, 300,000 missed work and school days, and 3,600 premature deaths annually by 2030. Repealing these standards means more sick kids, more expensive hospital visits, and thousands of premature deaths that could have been prevented.
The Clean Power Plan would also cut other power plant pollutants that cause asthma attacks and respiratory illnesses, and is projected to prevent thousands of premature deaths, tens of thousands of fewer asthma attacks, and total health benefits of $14 to $34 billion.
The Clean Power Plan is based on a strong legal foundation. It is consistent with the law, earlier court precedents, and other EPA standards that protect Americans from dangerous pollution.
The EPA is looking to repeal a critical clean air safeguard. With such a huge decision, allowing public input at a single public hearing in absolutely inadequate.
For links to some of the statistics: