Pallone Applauds Biden Administration’s Proposed New Standards for Cutting Climate Pollution from Fossil Fuel Power Plants

Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following statement today applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new carbon pollution standards to dramatically cut climate pollution from both new and existing fossil fuel power plants:

"Today is a great day for climate action and public health. This announcement makes good on the President's promise to tackle the climate crisis head-on, slash dangerous greenhouse gas pollution, and put the health and well-being of the American people before corporate polluters. These ambitious new standards, combined with the historic climate investments Democrats made last Congress, will put us on track to cleaner air, better health, a safer climate, and a stronger economy. I look forward to working with EPA to ensure it finalizes the strongest standards possible to protect communities across the country."

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA has the authority and obligation to regulate carbon pollution from power plants. The power sector is the second-largest source of climate pollution in the United States, and currently, the sector's carbon emissions are completely unregulated.

EPA's proposed standards will avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon emissions from the power sector through 2042, which is equivalent to reducing the annual emissions of half the cars in the country.President Biden promised to cut climate pollution in half by 2030 – a goal which the global scientific community has repeatedly said is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

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