Hartford, CT – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first-ever, federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the largest single source of global warming pollution in America.
Environment Connecticut cheered the proposed limits, which once finalized will be the largest step the U.S. has taken to combat global warming.
“This announcement is exactly what we’ve been waiting for,” said Chris Phelps, Campaign Director for Environment Connecticut. “This is America’s chance to lead and our best chance to take the action necessary to stop global warming before it is too late.”
Across the country Americans have felt the consequences of global warming with increasing frequency and severity. In 2011 and 2012, the number of heat waves was nearly three-times greater than the long-term average. In Connecticut and New England, extreme precipitation events have increased by 30 percent.
The National Climate Assessment, released in May, recognized today’s impacts with the statement, “Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present.”
Until now, while some states like Connecticut have adopted caps on carbon pollution from power plants, there have been no federal pollution limits.
“This announcement is a huge win for the health of our families, our economy, and our environment,” said Phelps. “Millions of average Americans, local officials, and states like Connecticut who have called for national action to cut carbon pollution have been waiting for this step.”
“Coal companies and other polluters opposing limits on carbon pollution continue to question the science of global warming and predict the economic sky will fall if we act to cut pollution. But the truth is that our future prosperity depends upon a cleaner, more energy-efficient economy and environment.”