“We applaud President Obama’s commitment to tackling climate change. The shifts that have been made in the final Clean Power Plan to encourage renewables and energy efficiency over natural gas represent the kind of change the US needs,” said Jennifer Krill, Earthworks Executive Director. “Any support for dirty fossil fuels like fracked oil and gas threatens our health and climate.”
“Natural gas is not a bridge fuel, it’s a fossil fuel,” continued Krill. “We’ve long known that coal-fired power plants harm our health and the climate. Now we have proof that the nation’s sprawling natural gas facilities also pollute our air with potent greenhouse gases like methane and cancer-causing chemicals like benzene. It’s time to go all-in on real clean energy. EPA clearly listened to science and to the concerns of communities nationwide. While we hope this rule is the first step in that direction, a continued reliance on dirty fossil fuels like natural gas would only derail efforts to tackle the climate crisis. ”