Statement on President Obama’s Clean Power Plan
President Obama got to the heart of the issue when he stated: “climate change is not a problem for another generation.” We must act now. At Oregon Environmental Council, we work collaboratively with individuals, businesses, health providers and elected officials to advance innovative, collaborative solutions to Oregon’s most pressing environmental challenges. Climate pollution threatens our economy, our health, our natural resources, and harms our way of life. Dangerous climate pollution is currently pumped into Oregon’s air and water, and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan helps correct that.
The plan sets the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants, while providing states and utilities with a number of tools to meet new standards. The power sector represents the single largest source of climate pollution in the U.S. In Oregon, approximately one third of our power comes from out-of-state coal power, and for customers of Pacific Power coal power makes up as much as 66% of the energy that runs our homes and businesses. But the Clean Power Plan provides an effective transition away from dirty, polluting coal to cleaner power.
The Clean Power Plan will improve the health of Oregon communities while creating investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency to benefit our local economies. Renewable energy has already brought more than $9 billion of investment to Oregon, and the wind and solar industries combined have created an estimated 5,000 family-wage jobs throughout the state. At the same time, by cutting carbon pollution from power plants, we can reduce the risk of asthma and other harmful air pollutants that damage health and most negatively Oregon’s and the region’s most vulnerable populations.
We applaud President Obama for bringing climate change to the forefront of the nation’s attention today and developing a feasible plan to cut energy waste, create local clean energy infrastructure, and slow the damaging effects of climate change for today and future generations. To read more about how President Obama’s Clean Power Plan will work in Oregon, please view the Oregon fact sheet here.
About Oregon Environmental Council
Oregon Environmental Council safeguards what Oregonians love about Oregon—clean air and water, an unpolluted landscape and healthy food produced by local farmers. For more than 45 years we’ve been a champion for solutions to protect the health of every Oregonian and the place we call home. Find out more at oeconline.org.
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Media Contact:
Jessica Moskovitz, Communications Director
Oregon Environmental Council
p: 503.222.1969 c: 503.929.6309
e: jessicam@oeconline.org
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