Congressman Dan Goldman Demands EPA Place Strong Pollution Limits on Fossil-Fuel Power Plants
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New York, NY – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) last week called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan to finalize strong limits on carbon pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants by March 2024. The power sector accounts for 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, directly contributing to climate change and its negative impacts.
“It is the EPA’s role to protect the public from harmful pollution and aggressively tackle the existential threat of climate change,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “A clean energy transition is vital to reducing the carbon pollution across the board, including in our transportation and manufacturing sectors. It is long past time for robust carbon pollution standards for our fossil-fuel power plants.”
The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in 2022 has the potential to reduce the power sector’s carbon pollution by roughly 60-70 percent by 2030. However, to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, we must also curb our use of fossil-fuel energy.
The Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority and obligation to protect Americans from sources that cause, or significantly contribute to, air pollution that endangers public health or welfare – like carbon pollution from power plants.
As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, Congressman Goldman continues to make mitigating the impacts of climate change a core issue priority during his first term.
Earlier this month, Congressman Goldman cosponsored the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act to claw back windfall profits to the largest oil companies while lowering consumer costs for relief rebates. He also cosponsored the Energy Resilient Communities Act to maintain critical infrastructure in the aftermath of extreme weather events.
During his first month in office, the Congressman filed the Green Equity Amendment to replace the special interest fossil fuel giveaway requirements of the Republican Big Oil Bill with requirements that meet President Biden’s greenhouse gas reduction and climate justice goals. This amendment would overturn the Republican fossil fuel giveaway and require certification that the Paris Climate Accords and Justice40 Initiative Targets are being met before tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Congressman Goldman understands that climate change presents some of the most pressing dangers to our future and is committed to doing everything in his power to create a clean energy future for our families.
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