The Trump administration recently released
a proposal to replace the EPA's Clean
Power Plan (CPP),
which put common-sense limits on carbon pollution from power plants, with the Affordable
Clean Energy (ACE)
rule.
According to the EPA's own analysis, more
than 1,000 lives could be lost annually by 2030 under this proposal due to the
health impacts of exposure to increased air particulates, compared to the Clean
Power Plan that would have significantly reduced carbon pollution and saved
lives.
The Jesuit Conference Office of Justice
and Ecology released a statement on the ACE rule expressing deep
disappointment with "this inadequate proposal that prioritizes the
interests of the fossil fuel industry and threatens human health, particularly
those who are most vulnerable and at risk from harmful pollution and an
increasingly unstable climate."
In Laudato Si', his letter to all
people on care for our common home, Pope Francis calls on world leaders to
develop a "culture of care" and to establish policies reducing the
emission of carbon dioxide and highly polluting gases, "substituting for
fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy." (Laudato Si',
n.231 and n.26)
The Affordable Clean Energy rule falls
significantly short of its mission "to protect human health and the
environment" and does not help us make this energy transition, as it
places no limits whatsoever on the climate pollution the power sector emits.
We need the EPA to strengthen safeguards
that address climate change by limiting harmful pollution and encouraging the
development of clean, renewable energy.
Please join us in taking
action today and calling on the EPA to demonstrate leadership on climate
change and care for our common home.
The administration has opened a comment
period (until October 31) for the public to submit written comments about the
proposed rule. Send a comment to the Environmental Protection Agency today!
Tell them that, as people of faith, we believe in caring for our common home,
and the administration's replacement plan does not protect human health or
God's creation.
