Foundation News

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first-ever national protections against dangerous carbon pollution from existing power plants. Carbon pollution is the leading cause of climate disruption and fuels superstorms, floods, wildfires, and extreme heat. It worsens the effects of other air pollution that sickens our children and costs billions of dollars each year in emergency room visits, lost productivity, and premature death.

This new standard, which is the centerpiece of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, will help clean up the industry that creates the lion’s share of carbon pollution in our country. The new protections will also help reduce other life-threatening air pollution including mercury, soot, and smog.

“Until now, power plants have been allowed to dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into our air,” said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “In the month ahead, we will work to ensure a strong and just standard for cutting carbon pollution. In doing so, we will protect the health of our children, boost our clean energy economy, and help American communities thrive.”

The Sierra Club Foundation is a major funder of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, which has blocked 183 proposed new coal-burning power plants and led to the retirement of 165 coal-burning plants to date. As old coal plants retire, The Sierra Club Foundation is ramping up funding to make sure clean energy, like wind and solar, will step in to replace them.