Trump Administration Formally Proposes Repeal of Bedrock Greenhouse Gas Standards, Sells Out Americans

Washington, D.C.- Today, the Trump Administration issued a proposalby the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back the agency's Clean Air Act Section 111 carbon pollution standards, which limit climate-disrupting greenhouse gas emissions from gas- and coal-fired power plants. This comes as Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have proposed to end over 30 provisionsin place to limit pollution and protect the health of Americans.

The proposal falsely claims that power plant greenhouse gas emissions "do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution." In fact, the power sector is the largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and releases more climate pollution than over half of all the world's countries combined.

According to the Sierra Club's estimates in the Trump Coal Pollution Dashboard, repealing the Section 111 carbon pollution standards would allow some of the largest plants to release nearly seven times as much carbon dioxide. It would also increase emissions of pollutants that lead to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, asthma and other respiratory diseases, pregnancy complications, and cancer.

The proposed repeal will now face a public comment period.

In response, Sierra Club Climate Policy Director Patrick Drupp issued the following response:

"It's completely reprehensible that Donald Trump would seek to roll back these lifesaving standards and do more harm to the American people and our planet just to earn some brownie points with the fossil fuel industry. This repeal means more climate disasters, more heart attacks, more asthma attacks, more birth defects, more premature deaths.

"This administration is transparently trading American lives for campaign dollars and the support of fossil fuel companies, and Americans ought to be disgusted and outraged that their government has launched an assault on our health and our future. The Sierra Club will not stand by and let this corrupt administration destroy these critical, lifesaving guardrails."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.