r ~~~✓~`" i 1 4,.,u 

♦ ♦ 

Testimony of Kimberly Glas, Executive Director, BlueGreen Alliance 

Public Hearing on EPA's Clean Power Plan 

Washington, D.C. 

July 29, 2014 

Good morning. I am Kimberly Glas, Executive Director of the B1ueGreen Alliance, 

and I thank you for the opportunity to testify about the EPA's proposed rule to limit 

carbon pollution from existing power plants. 

As you've seen throughout the day, there are strong feelings on all sides of this issue. 

These voices can and must be heard as states develop plans to implement the final 

rule. 

The B1ueGreen Alliance is a national partnership of the country's largest labor unions 

and most influential environmental organizations—representing nearly 16 million 

members and supporters—working to turn today's environmental challenges into job 

creating and economic opportunities. 

Our members come from every state in the nation and work in a wide range of 

occupations, including utility workers, steel and auto manufacturing, building and 

construction workers, teachers, transit operators, hospital and healthcare employees, 

and telecommunications workers, to just name a few. 

The BlueGreen Alliance was founded in 2006 with the recognition that we can no 

longer be forced to choose between good jobs and a clean environment; that now, we 

can and must have both. This drives our belief that climate change can and must be 

addressed in a way that creates and maintains quality jobs and provides economic 

opportunity. Proposals to address climate change should also work to ensure that the 

transition to a low-carbon emission economy fosters an improved quality of life. 

Specifically, efforts to reduce carbon emissions should go hand in hand with efforts to 

achieve a net increase in the number and quality of family-supporting jobs where 

workers can exercise their basic rights. It is our responsibility to ensure that these 

1 
policies create the conditions for a sustainable economy and environment in order to 

enrich the lives of individuals, families and communities. 

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our generation. It is a threat to our 

environment and to our economy, and it is imperative that we take action to address it. 

We support the EPA's authority to limit carbon pollution from power plants. We are 

pleased that this proposed rule permits each state to craft a compliance plan that is 

tailored to the specifics of its local and regional economy; that will protect existing 

jobs while reducing emissions; and that can create opportunities to grow new jobs, 

encourage investment, and jumpstart new technologies. 

This proposal can be a significant step forward, if we all engage to develop and 

implement it. 

There are three points I'd like to emphasize this morning: 

First, the proposed rule sets reasonable targets for reducing carbon pollution that the 

final rule should retain. 

Second, the proposal's flexible compliance approach is essential to its success. 

Third, community and workforce stability and development should be integral 

elements of any carbon reduction strategy. 

I will say just a few words on each point. 

First, the reduction targets are reasonable. The EPA began with the status quo in each 

state—the mix of energy sources that each state was using in 2012. Then the agency 

applied the same set of existing emissions reductions tools to each state and calculated 

how much reduction their use could achieve. The result was an emissions target 

calculated to fit each state's situation. 

Not only were these targets individually designed for each state, but the EPA provided 

a common-sense, measured timetable for their achievement. The proposal sets an 

interim reduction goal that each state must meet on average between 2020 and 2029. 

The state must meet its final target by 2030, and maintain that level thereafter. Thus 
each state has ten years to see its plan in action and make any needed adjustments 

before it is responsible for meeting its final reduction goal. 

In the aggregate, the proposal will help cut carbon pollution from power plants by 30 

percent from 2005 levels. These first-ever proposed limits on existing power plant 

emissions are a substantial step forward in reducing the carbon pollution that fuels 

climate change. And they will send a forceful message to other nations around the 

globe that, when it comes to combatting climate change, the United States leads by 

example. 

Second, the proposal offers maximum flexibility for compliance. Each state can 

determine for itself which carbon reduction mechanisms make the most sense for its 

citizens, its workers and its economy. Or states can band together to submit regional 

implementation plans. 

As a result, the proposal will permit each state to focus on ensuring power reliability, 

fostering community stability, and encouraging economic growth—all while reducing 

carbon dioxide pollution at a measured and responsible pace. 

For example: 

• A state with multiple coal plants can encourage improvements in both supply 

and demand. Technological changes can increase the supply of power produced 

by each ton of coal. Boosting end-use energy efficiency tools will reduce 

demand for electricity during peak hours. And manufacturing and installing 

energy-efficiency tools can create new jobs for workers in factories and on 

construction sites. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient 

Economy, industrial and end-use energy efficiency investments could create a 

net gain of 611,000 full-time jobs and increase the U.S. Gross Domestic 

Product by $17.2 billion by 2030. 

• A state whose power comes principally from gas plants may institute 

diversification incentives, so that renewables supply more of the state's energy 

mix. 

• A state can authorize carbon capture and storage mechanisms to reduce 

emissions from existing coal plants. This technology has been used successfully 

3 
in a Department of Energy-sponsored project in Alabama, which captured more 

than 150,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year from a coal power plant. 

The Department of Energy is helping to fund construction on the largest carbon 

capture project in the world—the Petra Nova project in Texas—which is 

projected to capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions from one of the 

plant's generators. The BlueGreen Alliance urges the EPA to include in its final 

rule language encouraging states to use carbon capture mechanisms as a 

compliance tool. 

• A state can approve a carbon credit exchange, by which a facility that uses 

renewables or other tools to cut emissions below its target could sell its "surplus 

emission reductions" to another plant for use in meeting its own reduction 

goals. Such an exchange can also serve as a financing mechanism for the clean 

energy or technological upgrades, either within a single state or on a regional 

basis. 

• A state can facilitate a plant's retrofitting for an integrated coal gasification 

combined cycle, which again would reduce carbon emissions. 

Finally, I'd like to address community and economic stability and development. 

Regardless of any action to address climate change, the United States is in the midst of 

an energy transition that in some cases can lead to job loss. While we believe that 

states can craft comprehensive implementation plans that result in net job creation 

across the country, we must be prepared to provide direct support to workers and 

communities—extending to ancillary and support sectors as well as the utility 

sector—if and when a power plant shuts down. 

A proper transition means direct support for workers by providing wages, benefits, 

training, education and the recognition of basic workers' rights. It also means 

providing a community with resources to redevelop its economy and create highpaying jobs that can match or exceed those that may have been lost. The private 

sector, including utilities, and ali levels of government must work in tandem with 

communities to make these transitions a success. 

We believe that, if well crafted, the Clean Power Plan has the potential to create and 

sustain quality, family-sustaining jobs across the country. This potential can only be 

realized by engagement with stakeholders to develop a plan that includes adequately 

El 
funded programs to meet the needs of workers and their industries as well as the 

communities and states in which they live. 

We at the B1ueGreen Alliance applaud the EPA for moving forward on addressing the 

threat of climate change. And we look forward to working in states to develop wellcrafted implementation plans that achieve these goals. 

Thank you.