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![Calfifornia Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General](/sites/default/themes/custom2017/oag2017/img/doj-seal-header.png)
OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced joining a coalition of 20 attorneys general and six cities in filing a comment letter supporting a proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) that would regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Fossil fuel-fired power plants — especially coal- and gas-fired plants — are one of the nation’s leading sources of GHG emissions. It was estimated that 25% percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2021 were attributable to this sector, second only to the transportation sector (28%). In the comment letter, the attorneys general underscore that the proposed rule is based on cost-effective and adequately demonstrated pollution control technologies, and would advance the states’ ongoing interest in addressing climate change. The attorneys general also recommend several ways that the proposed rule could be strengthened.
“Day in and day out, we are seeing the dangerous effects of climate change, with environmental justice communities bearing the brunt of the harm. No state — whether red or blue — is being spared,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I join my fellow attorneys general both in supporting the proposed rule, which would reduce 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2042, and in urging EPA to achieve even greater emission reductions by adopting our recommendations.”
In the comment letter, the attorneys general:
In submitting the letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia as well as the chief legal officers of the City and County of Denver, and the Cities of Boulder (CO), Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.
A copy of the comment letter is available here.