Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reconsider the administration’s decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and meet U.S. commitments under the Paris climate agreement.

"Despite overwhelming evidence that climate change is increasing the severity of natural disasters—particularly the hurricanes and wildfires that have devastated this country recently—your decision to begin repealing the Clean Power Plan not only endangers the lives of Americans, it also undermines America’s international credibility,” Senator Feinstein wrote. “Given the significant dangers we face from foreign adversaries, like North Korea and Russia, it is more critical than ever that America’s commitments to the global community and our allies remain steadfast.”

Full text of the letter follows:

October 12, 2017

The Honorable Scott Pruitt
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460

Dear Administrator Pruitt:

I write to express my strongest concern with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, a critical public health effort designed to help America reduce greenhouse emissions in a way that provides significant discretion to states.

Under the Clean Power Plan, the United States will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. This carefully planned program will allow each state to determine how best to implement the reductions in ways they find least disruptive to the people and industries within their jurisdiction.

Despite overwhelming evidence that climate change is increasing the severity of natural disasters—particularly the hurricanes and wildfires that have devastated this country recently—your decision to begin repealing the Clean Power Plan not only endangers the lives of Americans, it also undermines America’s international credibility. Given the significant dangers we face from foreign adversaries, like North Korea and Russia, it is more critical than ever that America’s commitments to the global community and our allies remain steadfast.

Now is not the time to rollback strong clean energy protections. Today, large portions of the Antarctic ice sheet are melting, increasing the possibility of catastrophic sea-level rise that will imperil coastal communities across the United States. Last month, three major hurricanes slammed the southeast coast of the United States and U.S. territories. And just this week, my home state of California is dealing with one of the worst series of wildfires on record. Now is the time to do all we can to fight climate change and not willfully ignore the dangerous realities we face.

Despite delays and inaction at the federal level, individual states are leading the way in the effort to meet the emissions reduction targets in the Clean Power Plan. According to a recent study from the Rhodium Group, which breaks down which states are on track to meet their Clean Power Plan targets and which are not:

• 25 states are likely to beat their emissions targets in their power sector (164.24 million Americans live in those states);
• 10 states are expected to hit their emissions targets if natural gas prices remain low and renewable energy prices continue to drop (61.87 million Americans live in those states); and
• only 12 states are on track to miss their emissions targets (82.32 million Americans live in those states).

The evidence is clear. Twice as many Americans live in states that are likely to beat their emissions targets under the Clean Power Plan (164.24 million Americans) as Americans who live in states that are likely to miss the mark on their emissions targets (82.32 million Americans). Therefore, the majority of Americans live in states that are on track to do their part and invest in clean energy. That is powerful evidence of why the Environmental Protection Agency must move forward with, and not walk away from, the Clean Power Plan.

I strongly support the Clean Power Plan, which I believe is essential to our continued efforts to address climate change. In order to continue America’s leadership in developing and investing in clean energy technologies that keep our economy strong while protecting the environment, I urge you to reverse course and implement the Clean Power Plan and other efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

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