"Good 

### [morning afternoon/evening], my name is Chris Flanagan and I am here on behalf of Renew Missouri, a non-profit advocacy group working to progress renewable energy and energy efficiency policies in Missouri.

I am here today to have on the record our official stance on the Environmental Protection Agency's recent proposed rule for its Clean Power Plan. We agree with the EPA on the need for the United States to significantly cut carbon emissions and focus on cleaner sources of energy. We applaud the President and the EPA for taking ownership of this effort and leading the way. As stated in the recent Time Magazine article "The Green Revolution Is Here," the United States has already decreased it's carbon emission output by 17% of its 2005 levels in recent years. We are currently halfway there to the President's intended goal of a 30% reduction by 2030.

However, we also believe that the EPA's goal for Missouri -- a 21`)/0 reduction from 2012 levels -- is easily achievable, and should be more aggressive. Quick analysis reveals that if Missouri's largest utilities simply comply with policies already in place, Missouri would reach compliance with its goal by 2020 or soon after. This does not even take into account Missouri's municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives, which are also very reliant on coal. A more stringent standard would have a greater chance of affecting significant change in Missouri's power portfolio.

It's not just non-profits like ourselves who would like to see this change, it also small businesses in Missouri and across the nation. We hear from numerous opponents that this proposed rule will hurt small businesses and small business owners do not want these rules enacted. Small Business Majority, a national small business organization dedicated to solving the biggest problems that face small businesses today, conduct numerous scientific polling on a variety of issues. In their polling, they have found that 52% of small business owners support the EPA regulating carbon emissions from existing power plants that cause climate change. This issomething small business owners want, a more consistent, renewable

energy source for the future.

Opponents of the rule also state that the United States should focus on cheap energy. Renew Missouri could not agree more. That is why we urge EPA to ensure that its final rule maximizes the opportunity and incentive for states to comply by investing in energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is the cheapest investment utilities can make to meet demand, and it also happens to be the lowest carbon-output alternative available. First and foremost, states should be capturing all cost-effective energy efficiency before considering any other compliance options. In addition, although natural gas is currently a cheap form of electric generation, it is not a long term solution. Emerging technologies like wind and solar are rapidly decreasing in price, and already employ thousands of Missourians. These technologies are improving, and with strategic investments to reach new economies of scale, wind and solar will soon be the cheapest forms of electric generation available. As a nation, we should not waste this regulatory opportunity on technologies that will always be based on finite resources that emit large amounts of carbon into our atmosphere.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are the way of the future and the most cost-effective long-term way to reduce carbon emissions. It is imperative for the United States to be a world leader in renewable energy
and efficiency.

Thank you,