On Monday, August 3, President Barack Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Clean Power Plan, which establishes national standards to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. The plan would cut U.S. carbon pollution from the power sector by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Additional reductions will come from pollutants that can create dangerous soot and smog. According to a press release from the EPA, power plants are the largest drivers of climate change in the United States, accounting for roughly one-third of all carbon pollution emissions.
The EPA says that reducing carbon emissions will have significant health benefits. It estimates that the Clean Power Plan will prevent 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks, and 300,000 days of missed work and school.
Learn more about the Clean Power Plan.