WASHINGTON – The Clean Power Plan, which would reduce emissions from U.S. power plants 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, is the latest target of President Trump's effort to eventually destroy President Obama’s programs to address climate change.
Trump not only wants to cut the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 31 percent and cut 15,000 EPA workers’ jobs, he also wants to endanger the lives of vulnerable communities by nullifying key environmental regulations, including the Clean Power Plan – a vital first step in reducing climate change.
Jordan Estevao, a senior strategist and climate justice organizer for People’s Action, provided this statement in response to Trump’s order:
“The climate crisis is here. And it’s been here. Take a look at the coal plants and waste incinerators surrounding black neighborhoods, like in Cincinnati where residents die 20 years younger than their neighbors in whiter and less polluted neighborhoods. Then we have the 11,000 uranium mines on Native and federal lands poisoning the water, the land and the people. Within the 48217 zip code of Detroit – the most polluted zip code in America – you’ll find staggering rates of asthma, heart disease and neurological disorders. In Louisiana, rising waters swallowed the Ninth Ward, turning the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaws in the Bayou into climate refugees.
“When so many people are already at risk, especially in marginalized communities, Trump’s order is life-threatening. Our future and our health depend on policies that keep us safe. The green energy economy not only protects us from dangers arising out of climate change; it’s also a source of tens of thousands of jobs. As a result of Trump’s order, some families will pay the price with their lives. Trump said he would help the working class, but his policies say otherwise.
“The climate crisis is the product of an economy and government that put profits over people and planet. It is the product of centuries of structural racism, class oppression and the legacy of stolen land worked by stolen people.
“We’ve been fighting, and we will continue fighting. Just as Trump carries on a legacy of exploitation, we will carry on a legacy of resistance. We won’t stop until we see a transition to a democracy and an economy that work for all of us and ensure all of our safety, health and security.”