Clean Power, Vulnerable Communities

The EPA just released final rules to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants. These rules, known collectively as the Clean Power Plan, are a huge step in reducing the dangerous power sector carbon pollution that accounts for 40 percent of the U.S.'emissions footprint, drives global climate change, and is already endangering human health. Those of us working to protect our most vulnerable communities from the impacts of carbon and co-pollutant emissions like particulates and ozone precursors commend the EPA for listening to the concerns of the environmental justice (EJ) community and incorporating those concerns into the final rules. As EJ advocates and scholars havedemonstrated, many of the nation's coal-based power plants are located in or nearby low-income and minority communities, exposing populations to particulate matter, as well as to ozone precursors that turn into lower-atmosphere ozone. It is critical to protect these communities, as they are often deprived of social and economic resources to prevent adverse health outcomes worsened by climate change like asthma and respiratory allergy attacks.