Carper Praises Circuit Court Ruling on Clean Power Plan

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, released the following statement regarding the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to leave the Clean Power Plan in place while litigation continues over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that would cut carbon emissions from the nation’s new and existing power plants by 32 percent by 2030, known as the Clean Power Plan. 

“I’ve long said that the legal precedent for the Clean Power Plan is clear, and any attempt to challenge it in the courts is nothing more than an attempt to delay its implementation. Today’s decision reinforces that view and I am grateful that the Circuit Court made the right call. I remain hopeful that the courts will continue to protect this historic rule as it works its way through the judicial process, and I am committed to working with the administration and my colleagues to support its noble and important goals.

“After all, the Clean Power Plan will ensure that each state across the country acts as a good neighbor by doing its fair share to protect the air we breathe and stem the tide of climate change. Reducing carbon pollution from local power plans is a critical element in any meaningful national strategy to mitigate the effects of our changing climate, and the longer we wait, the more severe and, perhaps, irreversible the adverse health and environmental effects will become.

“We should not continue to delay and avoid the work that we know must be done, rather we should seize the day and get to work ensuring that this plan is fully and successfully implemented.”