EPA’s Carbon Pollution Standards Are Good For Business
CeresOne of the most ambitious and meaningful U.S. energy policy initiatives in decades is the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan. It’s the nation’s first comprehensive effort to reduce carbon pollution from existing electric power plants—the single largest source of global warming pollution in the U.S. It’s impact cannot be overstated: The EPA estimates it will reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030, from a 2005 baseline.
Rather than be prescriptive, the plan lays out targets based on state and regional factors. How the states achieve the targets is left to them to determine. That makes it particularly attractive to some in both the private and public sector.
In fact, over 220 companies, including industry giants such as IKEA, Mars Inc., VF Corporation, and Nestlé, signed a letter in support of the EPA plan, which they submitted to President Obama, the EPA and congressional leaders. Coordinated by the nonprofit sustainability advocacy organization, Ceres, the letter states in part, “As businesses concerned about the immediate and long-term implications of climate change, we strongly support the principles behind the draft Carbon Pollution Standard for existing power plants. The proposed Carbon Pollution Standard represents a critical step in moving our country towards a clean energy economy.”
A compilation of press and related articles associated with this show of support can be found here.
Many of the signatory companies have set their own renewable energy and energy efficiency goals – milestones that will be more achievable with enactment of the EPA carbon rule. IKEA, for example, has set a goal to use 100 percent renewable energy for its global facilities by 2020 and recently announced the purchase of a 165-megawatt Texas wind farm that will boost the home furnishing company’s total wind production capacity to nearly 1,000 gigawatts of electricity per year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 90,000 American households.
Hear directly from an energy provider, an investor and a business leader as to why the EPA Clean Power Plan is good for their business, as well as the planet:
- National Grid’s Tom King on EPA’s Clean Power Plan
- IMPAX Asset Management’s Ken Locklin on EPA’s Clean Power Plan
- EMC Corporation’s Kathrin Winkler on EPA’s Clean Power Plan
EPA is expected to announce a final rule in June 2015. Ceres will continue leveraging business voices in support of the Clean Power Plan, which is critical for the successful implementation of the Plan. As Ceres President Mindy Lubber says, “Companies have the strength and power – the footprint to make a huge difference.”