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America’s mayors speak out in support of Obama’s Clean Power Plan

Cities Speak Up to Save Obama’s Clean Power Plan, City Lab, A large coalition of U.S. mayors and local governments is coming to the EPA’s defense in the legal battle to cut carbon emissions from power plants.  JULIAN SPECTOR  @JulianSpector Mar 31, 2016 

President Barack Obama’s flagship plan to fight climate change is getting a boost from city leaders across the country.

The National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and a coalition of 54 local governments are filing arguments in federal court Friday morning in support of the Clean Power Plan, imploring the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases emitted from existing power plants.

The amicus brief, provided in advance to CityLab, argues that the EPA has a duty to protect the public from harmful pollution in ways laid out by the Clean Power Plan. Cities, meanwhile, are uniquely vulnerable to climate change and are already paying for its effects, they say.

These comments come days after the EPAoutlined its own arguments in defense of the plan, which is being challenged by 27 states and an assortment of coal and power industry groups. The rule would force changes in the power sector with a goal of cutting its emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. At stake is the scope of the EPA’s regulatory powers, but also the ability of the U.S. government to meet its commitments to fighting climate change, as agreed to in the Paris negotiations last December………

“President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is essential to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti writes to CityLab. “The Supreme Court must choose between helping cities fight climate change or standing squarely in their way.” http://www.citylab.com/politics/2016/03/epa-clean-power-plan-cities-supreme-court/476127/

April 4, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change, USA