### EPA Clean Power Plan Hearing Testimony- Elizabeth Perera, Senior Washington Representative on Climate Change Sierra Club, liz.perera@sierraclub.org



### ~~'~ **':§. ~~~**  **~~A** Good 

### aftet'll8

. My name is Liz Pererl and I am



# th **enior ashington**  Representative on Climate Change for the Sierra Club. I am also the volunteer chair for the American Public Health Association's Climate and Health Topic Committee.

I want to speak today on why the Sierra Club, with our 2.'4 million members supports the Environmental Protection Agency's first-ever carbon pollution standards for powerplants and will work to strengthen these standards in the Clean Power Plan. But first, I'm going to take this opportunityto tell you why I personally care deeply about these carbon pollution standards for powerplants.

**c..** First, I am a mother oftwo beautiful children, Lia (5) andA Aiden (3).



### D171 will be

# 20. years old, in the prime ofht:rlife, in 

### 2030 when this standard seeks to reduce emissions by 

### 30%. And in

### 2050, whenfue will be4(fin ourhome state ofMaryland there are projections showing a possible 

### 2 feet ofsea-level rise and these predictions rise to 

### 6 feet in 

### 2100. The National Mall and this verybuilding would beunderwater in those scenarios and the islands we love so much
on the Chesapeake Bay, like Smith Island, will potentiallybe gone longbefore 

### 2050. Crisfield, Maryland home ofourbeloved "Crisfield Crab" is portrayed in NOAA's interactive sea-level rise tool as being underwater with

# • 1 ft ofsea-level rise. And imagine when another Superstorm Sandyhits and we have a powerful storm surge on top ofthis sea-leveltise. Imagine the destruction and the lives lost in our area when it's our friends and family. It's not fair to my son and all ofour children to do nothing in the face ofreality. We must act now.
As

**Sup~..: rs**  **to rm**  Sandy taught us, the costs ofclimate inaction are too high

. There is a dire need to move quiddy to climate solutions like wind, solar, and energy efficiency to stem

**th~.:** climate crisis nne! protect our children ' s future
. Power plants are responsible for 40 percent ofthe carbon pollution in the US. By cleaning up and modernizing powerplants, we will begin to clean up our air, reduce pollution-related illness, and curb climate disruption. I have a masters ofpublic health and reducing carbon pollution from powerplants will not only save billions ofdollars each year, it will save lives. In fact, for every dollar ofinvestment underthe Plan, we'll see roughly seven dollars in health benefits. That's crucial to my fellow publichealth professionals with the American Public Health Association.
The Clean Power Plan creates a strong framework that will enable states to move towards clean energy, and puts states in the driver's seat to create a plan to limit carbon pollution. Thecarbon pollution standards present a huge opportunity to improve our environment, public health and the economy. The US is well on its way to meeting and exceeding the EPA proposed goal and the state can be a leader in making the transition to a clean, equitable energy future.
Sierra Club will be working with allies to strengthen the EPA's carbon standards for existing powerplants. With improvements Sierra Club recommends the Clean Power Plan could:

### • reduce powerplant emissions by 35-40 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. This is necessary to meetthe president's goal ofa 17 percent reduction in U.S. carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, and • promote energy efficiency and renewable energy without incentivizing natural gas, nuclear energy and other climate-disrupting energy sources.
In 2012, wind energy and solar photovoltaics (PV) were two ofthe fastest growing electric generation technologies in the United States: cumulative installed wind energy capacity increased bynearly 28% and cumulative installed solarphotovoltaic capacity grew more than 83% from the previous year. EPA rightly includes these resources in setting the state targets, but the availability and quantity ofRE opportunities assumed is too low. With a current account of retirements ofdirty powerplants and a more accurate estimate ofgrowth in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, the Clean Power Plan could produce deeper reductions in carbon emissions. The Sierra Club is detennined that the Clean Power Plan will result in strong andjust state carbon pollution standards. This means we will also be working with ourpartners to ensure that the most vulnerable communities are protected bythe standards and consulted throughout the standard-setting and state plan development process, and that sufficient public and private resources are made available to help workers and affected C<?mmunities make the transition to the clean-energy economy. Poll after poll demonstrates thepublic supports implementation ofthe Clean AirAct and letting the EPA do itsjob to protect public health and ensure a cleaner future for us all. We should not let a vocal minority ofprofit driven corporate polluters derail standards that will have tremendous benefits for our children, families and all Americans who value clean air and wild places. Again, we strongly support EPA's efforts to clean up dangerous carbon pollution and we strongly support this rule. Thank you.