Wisconsin Conservation Voters' statement on EPA’s power plant rules

May 11, 2023

MADISON – In response to the EPA’s proposed rules to limit carbon pollution from some new and existing fossil-fueled power plants, Wisconsin Conservation Voters issued the following statement from Government Affairs Director Jennifer Giegerich:

“Limiting pollution from power plants is long overdue, widely supported and will lead to cleaner air, healthier communities, and a livable climate.

The Biden Administration and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan deserve kudos for this step. No administration has done more to combat the climate crisis and finally kick this country’s clean energy economy – centered on good-paying family-sustaining jobs – into high gear. The power sector is one of our nation’s largest sources of climate pollution yet is virtually unchecked, and the EPA has an obligation under the Clean Air Act to set and effectively enforce limits.

In Wisconsin, generating our electricity is the top contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions, with close to a third of all climate pollution coming from the electric sector. The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment found that reducing carbon emissions from our energy use in Wisconsin would reduce hospital emissions, premature death, and an estimated 11,900 lost work days due to illness, and save $78 to $247 million from avoided health impacts.

As this important proposal moves forward, we are urging the EPA to finalize the strongest possible rules by early next year, ensure that they are in line with the urgency necessary to meet the challenge of the climate crisis, and are shaped by input from the communities that will be most affected. It is critical that the EPA center community engagement and take into account the community impacts of the use of hydrogen or methane gas co-firing or carbon capture.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters will continue to advance solutions at all levels of government that hasten our transition to cleaner and more affordable solutions and will fight against technologies being exploited by fossil fuel interests to support actions inconsistent with our climate and public health goals.”


For more information

Contact Ryan Billingham, Communications Director, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, 608-208-1129 (office), 608-213-6972 (mobile/text), or ryan@conservationvoters.org.