EPA Ruling on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Big Step in Improving Air Quality: American Thoracic Society

NEW YORK, NY – May 11, 2023 – Today, the EPA announced its proposed rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from power plants. Power plants, account for a quarter of all U.S. GHG emissions and is the largest stationary point source of such pollutants.

The EPA is proposing to reduce overall emissions from power plants by issuing stricter GHG emission standards for new power plants, creating GHG emission limits for existing power plants and guidance for states to limit GHG emission from the existing fleet of power plants.

Not only will the proposed rules reduce GHG emissions, but they will also reduce toxic airborne concentrations of commonly encountered air pollutants like ozone and particulate matter that can seriously compromise the health of children, the elderly and other populations at risk.

“We believe the EPA has carefully considered previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions and crafted a regulatory strategy that will address climate change by making significant reductions in GHG emission from powerplants while simultaneously withstanding judicial scrutiny,” said Jack Harkema, DVM. PhD, chair of the ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee.

“This is big!” said ATS Environmental Health Policy Committee Vice Chair Alison Lee, MD.  “Today’s GHG power plant ruling, combined with the EPA’s proposed rules to reduce GHG emissions from cars and trucks, as well as methane emissions from fossil fuel extraction, are major steps towards improving air quality.”