Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan on Track

On Tuesday, Earth Day, I attended a meeting with John Podesta, Counselor to President Obama, and Paulette Aniskoff from the White House Office of Public Engagement, along with members of the environmental, public health and civil rights communities to talk about the progress of the President’s Climate Action Plan.

Last summer when the President announced his plan to fight climate change, the League jumped into action applauding the President for “backing up his strong words with strong action.” Since the plan was released, the Obama Administration has followed through by investing in climate resilience, engaging state and local leaders on climate change preparedness, seeking international agreements to limit climate change, and proposing ambitious and aggressive regulations to control carbon pollution from power plants.

The League has been working diligently to support the proposed carbon pollution regulations. Last fall, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the new source rule, which establishes limits on carbon pollution and introduces new technology to be used in future power plants. To date, the League has collected and sent over 31,000 comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in support of this regulation. This June, the EPA will propose an additional rule to control carbon pollution from existing power plants, and the League will once again begin collecting comments and building support for this important regulation.

Regulating carbon pollution from power plants, the largest unlimited source of carbon pollution, is the key to protecting Americans from climate change. The Obama Administration’s leadership will help to reduce the pollution that fuels climate change and extreme weather, protect public health, and spur a rapid transition to clean, renewable energy. The League is glad to stand beside the Administration as they work to finalize these historic regulations.