The Clean Power Plan is Good for the Economy

Investors and Businesses Know the Clean Power Plan is Good for the Economy

From an Article by Katina Tsongas, Senior Manager, Policy Program, Ceres Coalition, September 27, 2016

Today, challengers to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan will try to make their case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that the plan—the nation’s first comprehensive effort to reduce carbon pollution from power plants—will cause “irreparable harm” to our economy.

However, hundreds of leading investors and businesses—as well as top climate and energy experts—recognize that this claim is far from the truth.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the Clean Power Plan will in fact accelerate annual growth of renewable energy production nationwide by nearly five percent through 2030, falling in line with the mandate’s goal of reducing U.S. power-plant carbon pollution 30 percent by 2030.

Businesses from across the country—from large employers to mom-and-pop stores—support the Clean Power Plan. Last summer, more than 365 companies and investors sent letters to governors calling for swift implementation of the plan. Industry leaders like General Mills, Staples, Unilever, eBay and Levi Strauss were among the wide swath of companies who signed onto to the letters, stating, “tackling climate change is one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time.”

More recently, eight major companies—including Adobe Systems Inc, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, IKEA North America Services and Mars Incorporated, took their support a step further by submitting legal briefs in defense of the Clean Power Plan.

“[We] believe the Clean Power Plan, when fully implemented, would not cause business harm to [our] operations as large energy consumers and purchasers,” wrote the companies. Tech companies Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft submitted a separate legal brief.

These companies understand that the Clean Power Plan plays a major role in the United States’ contribution to the global Paris Agreement—a climate pact signed by more 170 countries that showcases broad, universal support for addressing greenhouse gas pollution across the globe. They acknowledge the value of moving towards a low-carbon economy and the importance of forward-looking climate policies that will help to secure a clean energy future.

The Clean Power Plan is a critical step in making that future an achievable reality.

NOTE: This Article is from CERES,  the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies.

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Tagged as: CERES, Clean Power Plan, climate change, coal, CPP, drilling, fossil fuels, fracking, marcellus shale, methane, natural gas, sustainability, US EPA