Tell EPA: Care for our Climate and Protect Human Health

The Trump administration recently released a proposal to replace the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), which put common-sense limits on carbon pollution from power plants, with the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule.

According to the EPA’s own analysis, more than 1,000 lives could be lost annually by 2030 under this proposal due to the health impacts of exposure to increased air particulates, compared to the Clean Power Plan that would have significantly reduced carbon pollution and saved lives.

The Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology released a statement on the ACE rule expressing deep disappointment with “this inadequate proposal that prioritizes the interests of the fossil fuel industry and threatens human health, particularly those who are most vulnerable and at risk from harmful pollution and an increasingly unstable climate.”

In Laudato Si’, his letter to all people on care for our common home, Pope Francis calls on world leaders to develop a “culture of care” and to establish policies reducing the emission of carbon dioxide and highly polluting gases, “substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.” (Laudato Si’, n.231 and n.26)

The Affordable Clean Energy rule falls significantly short of its mission “to protect human health and the environment” and does not help us make this energy transition, as it places no limits whatsoever on the climate pollution the power sector emits.

We need the EPA to strengthen safeguards that address climate change by limiting harmful pollution and encouraging the development of clean, renewable energy.

Please join us in taking action today and calling on the EPA to demonstrate leadership on climate change and care for our common home.

The administration has opened a comment period (until October 31) for the public to submit written comments about the proposed rule. Send a comment to the Environmental Protection Agency today! Tell them that, as people of faith, we believe in caring for our common home, and the administration’s replacement plan does not protect human health or God’s creation.