Pres. Obama To Unveil Plan Today To Address Climate Change

Baltimore, MD—In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, record drought in many states, and extreme weather conditions across the country, Pres. Obama has announced he will unveil a climate action plan tomorrow designed to cut the carbon pollution fueling global warming and advance clean energy solutions. Environment Maryland and many other organizations applauded the announcement.

“Maryland is already paying a price as global warming fuels more damaging storms, summer droughts, and rising sea levels,” said Laura Lyon, field organizer with Environment Maryland. “Protecting our children from even more devastating consequences demands bold leadership. President Obama realizes this and we hope his plan will truly begin to safeguard our children’s future.”

One aspect of the plan that Environment Maryland and others will be watching closely is how it addresses carbon pollution from power plants. Despite being the largest sources of the carbon pollution fueling global warming, power plants have no federal limits on the amount of carbon pollution they can spew into our air. The president’s plan could take a pivotal step toward changing that.

“President Obama’s climate plan should clean up the largest global warming polluters and advance clean energy solutions, to help protect Marylanders and future generations from more severe weather and other consequences of global warming,” said Tommy Landers, director of Environment Maryland. “In addition to cleaning up carbon pollution from power plants, we will look for the president’s plan to advance energy efficiency measures and expand renewable energy—two critical steps toward getting the nation on track to a truly clean energy future.”

Residents of Maryland have voiced support for Pres. Obama’s action, and more than 3.2 million Americans submitted public comments last year in support of the president setting limits on carbon pollution from power plants, including over 2,000 Marylanders.

Left unchecked, global warming is likely to result in everything from severe storms that will create more pollution runoff to summer droughts and severe heat waves that could affect growing seasons here in Maryland. According to the Maryland Department of Environment, Maryland has the fourth largest coastline in the country which makes us the third most vulnerable state to rising sea levels. Scientists have warned that time is short to make the necessary cuts in carbon pollution to protect future generations from the worst consequences of global warming.

Cities and states across the country have been successfully implementing climate action plans and renewable energy solutions. Here in Maryland, Gov. O’Malley and other legislative champions have made our state a national leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We have one of the country’s few statewide greenhouse gas caps—in fact, the strongest approved by a legislature. To achieve that cap, Gov. O’Malley is slated to release in the near future a climate action plan for Maryland, in order to reduce emissions by at least 25% below 2006 levels by 2020.

Maryland also has aggressive targets for clean energy and energy efficiency, and the state is a member in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation’s first cap and trade program to reduce carbon from power plants. Most recently, with the championship of Gov. O’Malley and other legislative leaders, the General Assembly passed legislation which will allow the state to tap into the vast reserves of wind power off our Atlantic coast. These programs will help cut carbon pollution and have helped pave the way for Tuesday’s plan for federal action from Pres. Obama.
“Environment Maryland and our thousands of members and supporters stand ready to assist the president in taking ambitious steps to cut global warming pollution,” concluded Lyon.