New EPA Data Confirms the Need to Reduce Carbon Pollution from Power Plants

WASHINGTON – (February 5, 2013) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a second year of plant-by-plant greenhouse gas emissions data today, showing that power plants remain the largest source of pollution that drives climate change, contributing 2.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Following is a statement from David Doniger, policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate and Clean Air Program:

“The new data confirms that the nation’s power plants, which churned out 2.2 billion tons of carbon pollution in 2011, should be the centerpiece of President Obama’s actions to reduce the threat of climate change.  Power plants are the top source of heat-trapping pollution that drives climate change, and setting carbon pollution limits for existing plants under the Clean Air Act would deliver tremendous benefits for American people’s health and wellbeing.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council has outlined a way the Obama administration can use current authority under the Clean Air Act to set state-specific standards for carbon pollution that encourage investments in cleaner power and energy efficiency. This common-sense plan would cut our national carbon footprint by 10 percent, create thousands of jobs, and save families up to $700 a year in electricity bills. For more information, please click here: http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution-standards/