The Clean Power Plan
The clock is ticking on the gravest crisis facing humanity today. Experts warn that we have 12 years to avoid climate catastrophe — yet the Trump administration continues to put the interests of big polluters ahead of the American people.
In the latest in a string of attempts to dismantle environmental protections to benefit the fossil fuel industry, the Trump administration is trying to gut the Clean Power Plan — the first and only federal limit on carbon pollution from existing power plants. Created in 2015 by the Obama administration after more than a decade of work by Earthjustice and our partners, the Clean Power Plan aimed to tackle the biggest source of climate pollution in the United States.
Fossil fuel interests have shown they will stop at nothing to dismantle this common-sense rule and thwart our transition to clean energy and healthier communities. And they have found an ally in the Trump administration. Trump’s EPA recently unveiled its Dirty Power Scam — a rule that would give polluters a free pass in an effort to extend the life of dirty coal plants.
As co-counsel for the Sierra Club, Earthjustice has been part of the legal team defending the Clean Power Plan against lawsuits brought by fossil fuel interests and allied states. We will continue leveraging the power of the law to fight back against the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda, while working to spur clean energy solutions in our states, cities, and communities. Together with our partners, we will keep working to stop the greatest environmental threat we have ever known, and build a just, healthy planet for all.
We can do this. We must do this. We will do this.
From the Archives:
Clean Energy
Coming Clean: State By State
As one pathway to meeting the Clean Power Plan's goals, the EPA suggests renewable energy targets. Find out how clean energy is faring in a few spotlighted states:
Real Reasons. Real Stories.
For a Strong, Enforceable Clean Power Plan
Community advocates share why the Clean Power Plan and strong action to combat climate change is critical.
“Protecting our land, air and water are more than a policy priority, they are a core moral value …”
“I don’t just want this for my precious daughter; I want this for all children …”
“The Clean Power Plan is simply another step on the very necessary path to a carbon-free future …”
“It was always an in-family conversation. Why we have to live near all these factories …”