On August 8, the Evangelical Environmental Network announced it has submitted 51,584 comments from individual pro-life Christians in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed standards on carbon pollution from fossil-fuel-fired power plants (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072-0001).

EEN issued this statement--

“These proposed standards–which require a cut in carbon emissions by up to 90% from new and existing fossil fuel power plants by 2040–will prevent 1,300 premature deaths, 800 hospital and ER visits, more than 300,000 asthma attacks, 38,000 school absences, and 66,000 lost workdays in the year 2030 alone.

“In addition to saving lives, the standards are estimated to yield huge savings, with nearly $85 billion in health and climate benefits for all over the next two decades, relative to only $10 billion in total compliance costs.

“Power plants are responsible for approximately 25% of climate pollution in the U.S. and are the second largest source of carbon emissions nationwide.

“Additionally, medical research shows that air pollution from carbon-based fuels claims up to 200,000 American lives each year.

“Unfairly, it is the most vulnerable (our children both born and unborn, our brothers and sisters of color, the poor and unhoused, our seniors, and those with pre-existing medical conditions) who are most at risk and exposed to the harms of air pollution and climate-fueled extreme weather.

“For our community of evangelical Christians who are following the biblical mandates to care for creation and love our neighbors as ourselves, cutting power plant pollution is a crucial step in defending the health of our communities while also minimizing the impacts of climate change.

“In 2015, over 220,000 pro-life Christians supported the EPA’s first carbon pollution standard for power plants, and we will continue to ensure that this newest standard is finalized and implemented swiftly to ensure a healthy and safe future for our children and all God’s creation.

“We also acknowledge that cutting carbon pollution should not be left to the EPA alone. Congress must also act by advancing bipartisan, market-based solutions like a non-regressive carbon pollution fee and border-adjusted carbon pollution tariff that holds other high-emitting countries accountable to clean up their act.

“During this time when Congress seeks to reduce the national debt and protect the American economy from the steep financial costs of ever-increasing billion-dollar climate disasters, a revenue-raising carbon pollution fee is common sense.”

For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Evangelical Environmental Network website.   ENN is based in New Freedom, York County.

The mission of ENN is to inspire, equip, educate, and mobilize evangelical Christians to love God and others by rediscovering and reclaiming the Biblical mandate to care for creation and working toward a stable climate and a healthy, pollution-free world.

NewsClips This Week - Clean Energy:

-- Beaver County Times: Solar Innovation Is Coming To Beaver County - By Daniel Rossi-Keen

-- Altoona Mirror: Logan Township Drafts Solar Array Ordinance

-- WESA: Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority Is Investing In Wind Energy

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Water Authority Commits To Purchasing More Wind Energy

-- TribLive: Sustainable Pittsburgh Selected For Clean Energy Workforce Initiative

-- Duquesne Light Company: A Clean Energy Future Starts With A Skilled Workforce

-- The Guardian: They Got Jobs In Solar Industry, But The Reality Was Less Sunny Than They Expected

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Participation In RGGI Has Been Held Up For More Than A Year, What Has The State Lost?

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: By Stalling On RGGI, Here’s What Pennsylvania Residents Are Missing - By Joseph Minott, Clean Air Council

-- The Allegheny Front: New Book Looks To Climate Resilience To Ensure No One Gets Left Behind

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: What Can One Person Do About Climate Change?  Part I: Start At Home

-- Inquirer: Philly To Replace Every Street Light [130,000] With LED Lights Over Next 2 Years

-- WHYY: Philly Starts Replacing Its Street Lights With More Efficient LEDs

-- TribLive: Hardware, Electrical Stores Adapt To Federal Ban On Selling Incandescent Light Bulbs

-- WHYY: PA’s Whole-Home Repairs Money In Limbo Despite Shapiro’s Budget Signature

-- City & State PA: Whole-Home Repairs Program Is Remaking The Housing Landscape

-- Utility Dive: PJM, MISO, Other Grid Operators Warn Of ‘Significant Power Shortages’ From Epa’s Power Plant Carbon Rule

-- Utility Dive: Constellation Energy CEO ‘Disappointed’ To See Peers Opposing EPA’s Power Plant Carbon Rule

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: CONSOL Shifts Coal Business To Exports As Domestic Power Plant Business Declines

-- TribLive Guest Essay: As Climate Change Becomes Harder To Ignore, Proposed EPA Power Plant Standards Give Hope - PennEnvironment

-- Warren Times: 4 Factors Driving 2023’s Extreme Heat And Climate Disasters

-- Bloomberg: Texas Electric Grid Holds Up - Hottest Days Cannot Be Met By Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear Alone, Renewables Have Kept Comfortable Buffer In Place

Related Articles This Week - Clean Energy:

-- The Nature Conservancy-PA: Bipartisan Poll Finds Broad Support In PA For Clean Energy Transition  [PaEN]

-- PA Solar Center Hosts Aug. 18 PA Renewable Energy Policy Webinar - Time To Take Action  [PaEN]

-- On Demand: ReImagine Appalachia, Partners: Solar-Powered Faith Communities And Houses Of Worship, Saving Money And Ethical Labor  [PaEN]

-- Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority To Buy More Wind Energy From Western PA Energy Consortium  [PaEN]

-- PA League Of Women Voters, Food & Water Watch Launch Letter-Writing Campaign Opposing Hydrogen Hubs In PA  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light, Jewish Earth Alliance Aug. 16 Webinar: Why Should We Care About, Advocate For A Climate-Friendly Federal Farm Bill?  [PaEN]

-- PA-Based Evangelical Environmental Network: Over 51,000 Christians Call For Stronger Standards On Fossil Fuel Power Plants  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection, Other Grid Operators Express Concerns Proposed EPA Power Plant Rule Will Accelerate Retirements Of Fossil Fuel Plants Without Reliable Renewable, Storage Technologies To Replace Them  [PaEN]

[Posted: August 8, 2023]

8/14/2023