"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 is 
something 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,