Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced legislation to clean the air and address the threat of global warming. The Clean Air Planning Act (CAPA) would significantly reduce unhealthy emissions of mercury as well as harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, that produce smog and acid rain. In addition, the legislation would set up a mandatory cap-and-trade program for utilities to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide, which causes global warming.
“We have both a personal and economic responsibility to reduce pollution and fight global warming,” Senator Collins said. “Our legislation would reduce the harmful emissions that have been proven to cause health and environmental problems. It would also encourage cleaner, sustainable energy production. Together this would help to create cleaner air and better energy efficiency for future generations.”
The Carper-Collins clean air bill takes greater steps to reduce harmful emissions than the Administration’s proposed Clean Air Interstate Rule. It would also replace the Administration’s mercury rule, which has been roundly criticized as being too weak.
Specifically, CAPA would: cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 82-percent by 2015; cut emissions of nitrogen oxides by 68-percent by 2015; cut mercury emissions at each power plant by 90-percent by 2015; and implement a cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The legislation would be particularly effective in reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants, which are the single largest source of air pollution, mercury contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions in the nation.
“A single coal-fired power plant can emit more pollutants than all of the cars, factories, and businesses in Maine combined,” said Senator Collins. “I am especially concerned about the continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions. In light of the rapid warming in the Arctic and the significance that this warming portends for the rest of the planet, reducing carbon dioxide emissions is a step that we can no longer afford to put off.”
The bipartisan legislation would address the nation’s energy shortage and rising energy prices by providing incentives to bring new technologies and a new generation of cleaner power plants into the marketplace.
“Our legislation encourages Americans to rethink how we produce electricity,” said Senator Collins. “It encourages businesses and utilities to consider a variety of natural resources and renewable fuels to produce clean and efficient energy. This will help to meet the country’s future energy demands while also combating global warming.
CAPA is supported by a number of health and environmental groups, including the American Lung Association, American Wind Energy Association, Clean Energy Group, Environmental Defense, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Environmental Trust, National Parks Conservations Association, National Wildlife Federation, and Solar Energy Industries Association.