Clean Air supporters continue to oppose the repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency signaled their intention to replace the Plan with far weaker standards using an approach that only limits emissions at power plants themselves. Research has shown that doing so would not only be woefully inadequate to limit carbon pollution from power plants, but could result in increases of other deadly power plant emissions that cause asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and premature deaths.
A study from Harvard, Boston, and Syracuse Universities showed in 2015 that this approach to cutting carbon pollution from power plants could actually result in more premature deaths than no rule at all. The authors recently provided some additional information on this impact, including maps showing where the health harms would occur: http://eng-cs.syr.edu/news-events/news/interdisciplinary-research-team-epa-alternative-clean-power-plan-harm-good/ and https://science-policy-exchange.org/news/air-quality-and-health-harmed-under-inside-fence-line-option.
Power plants are one of the largest sources of carbon pollution in the nation, which drives climate change. Climate change leads to warmer temperatures and wildfires, increasing smog formation and particle pollution that cause asthma attacks and premature deaths. As part of the American Lung Association, we continue to press our strong opposition to the proposal to revoke the Clean Power Plan, and will continue to fight to ensure that any replacement offers the same or greater carbon reductions and health benefits.
