The Clean Power Plan and State Pathways to Cutting Carbon Pollution

America is taking historic action against climate change, the greatest environmental, public health, and humanitarian threat of our time -- and a threat whose effects we're already seeing. Limiting carbon pollution from the nation's power plants is the single biggest step we can take to fight climate change today. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized the Clean Power Plan, setting the first federal standards for the nation's largest source of carbon pollution -- existing power plants. This major step forward to rein in power plant pollution will protect our health now and will help to safeguard future generations from the worst impacts of climate change.

The EPA's standards allow each state the flexibility to design its own most cost-effective pathway toward a cleaner energy system to provide electricity. States can take action now to achieve a clean energy future by transitioning away from fossil fuels, which endanger our health.

The pathways outlined in these state issue briefs were selected to show that EPA's carbon pollution limits are readily achievable. NRDC believes that a more ambitious transition to clean energy is feasible for states and will bring large added health, environmental and economic benefits.

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