Sen. Carper Statement on Super Pollutants Act of 2014

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement on the Environment and Public Works Committee’s consideration of the Super Pollutants Act of 2014, a bipartisan piece of legislation co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

“I would like to thank Senators Murphy and Collins for their legislation that addresses so-called short-lived climate pollutants.  I’ve been working across the aisle for years to address many of these pollutants, championing legislation like the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). This bipartisan proposal builds on that work to curb pollutants that contribute to climate change and I welcome this important effort.

“Pollutants such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and black carbon are called short-lived climate pollutants because they don’t stay in the air for a long time, but the damage they can do to our health and to our climate can be long lasting. Reducing these harmful pollutants is a win-win-win – we lessen the threats posed by climate change; we improve public health; and we create well-paying American jobs responsible for the retrofitting that can have the greatest impact in curbing these emissions.

“The Murphy-Collins legislation is an important next step to building on the work we’ve done here at home – through programs like DERA – and globally to reduce short-term climate pollutants.”