GCC submits comments developed with input from climate leadership states on US EPA power plant emissions standards
August 8, 2023
Letter reflects state support for standards that reduce climate pollution & identifies improvements to proposed rule
Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) today submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), developed in collaboration with climate leadership states, expressing support for EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for power plants and identifying opportunities for additional climate pollution reduction in the final rule.
GCC facilitated discussions with state environment agency officials from climate leadership states across the country to inform the comments on EPA’s proposed rule. The letter calls on EPA to set power plant emissions standards “that require the control of climate pollution to the maximum extent allowed by the Clean Air Act.” Fossil fuel-fired power plants, including coal and natural gas facilities, contribute 25% of climate pollution in the United States.
The comment letter supports the framework of EPA’s proposed standards for new and existing power plants under section 111 of the Clean Air Act. Additionally, the letter encourages EPA to consider emissions reduction standards for a broader group of natural gas plants, and proposes an option for further emissions reductions from existing coal-fired power plants.
“States across the country are leading the way on reducing emissions from power plants, and have demonstrated that available emissions control technologies can lower pollution while maintaining a reliable supply of electricity,” said Kate Zyla, Executive Director of the Georgetown Climate Center. “Federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is making pollution control technology and low-carbon electricity even more cost-effective and available, and EPA’s emissions standards for power plants can complement the changes already underway in the power system.”
EPA issued the proposed “New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units: Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule” in May 2023.
Read the full comment letter from GCC.
Learn more about EPA’s proposed rule on the EPA website.