Foundation News

On August 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Obama administration released the final version of the landmark Clean Power Plan. Until now, there were no real limits on the amount of carbon pollution power plants could emit into the atmosphere. The Clean Power Plan is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This is a big step toward meeting our current international climate commitments.

The Clean Power Plan is not a single plan, but individual goals for each state set by the EPA, calibrated for what can be reasonably achieved through retiring coal power, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting renewable energy. The next step is for states to develop State Implementation Plans detailing how they will comply with these first ever federal standards on carbon pollution from power plants.

The Sierra Club Foundation shares this vision for reducing carbon emissions and is committed to going further. Through the Clean Power Plan for Healthy Communities Campaign, the Foundation is supporting the Sierra Club’s work to ensure that State Implementation Plans are inclusive of frontline communities most affected by the current fossil fuel energy economy and contributes to equity and quality clean energy careers for low-income people, communities of color, and working families that have depended on coal industry jobs.

We applaud the EPA and the Obama administration for taking this step for people and the planet and the thousands of activists nationwide who have rallied, written letters, made calls, and more to demand climate action from our leaders.