July 11, 2008

Sen. Carper Says the EPA Has Failed to Tackle Global Warming

The Next Adminstration Must Act Quickly with Congress to Reduce Global Warming

WASHINGTON – Reacting to an overdue Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to combat global warming, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) today said he was very disappointed in the Bush Administration because the federal proposal does not even begin to protect Americans from the dangerous effects of global warming, and signals yet again that Congress must take the lead to combat global warming and clean up our nation’s air.

Today’s announcement marked the EPA’s first formal response to the April 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which confirmed that greenhouses gases should be regulated as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. As of a result of that ruling, the EPA was legally required to develop an action plan for curbing greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.

“The science about global warming is clear. The need to act is urgent,” said Sen. Carper, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. “This EPA rule is just too little too late. After more than seven years, this Administration is still not willing to make the hard choices to confront global warming. I hope when we have a new Adminstration less than seven months from now, our new President will work with Congress to finally implement a national program to address the greenhouse gases polluting our atmosphere.”