CAC’s Margie Alt: Rolling Back EPA Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants Endangers Americans’ Health and Economic Well Being
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 14, 2026
CONTACT: Gabrielle Levy, Glevy@cacampaign.org, 562-673-6974
CAC’s Margie Alt: Rolling Back EPA Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants Endangers Americans’ Health and Economic Well Being
WASHINGTON– Today, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly is prepared to repeal the EPA’s Carbon Pollution Standards for power plants and issue a proposal that would strip the agency’s authority to limit power plant pollution in the future. The reversal of these lifesaving limits comes even as Americans endure the hottest summer on record, marked by dangerous storms, floods and fires. Margie Alt, Director of the Climate Action Campaign, released the following statement in response:
“This summer – the hottest on record – Americans lived through a heat dome, tornado outbreaks across the Midwest, and wildfires tearing through the communities throughout the country. Donald Trump and his EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin are doubling down on this destruction and suffering. In striking down limits on one of the largest sources of climate-change causing pollutants, they ignored scientific consensus and abandoned the EPA’s core mission. Adding insult to injury, they are trying to block future administrations from reversing the damage.
“This administration’s actions increasingly endanger our lives and wellbeing at a time when most of us can ill afford it. All to line the pockets of those with the most money to burn: the same executives and billionaires that bankrolled Trump’s campaign. Trump’s Polluters First Agenda means 69,000 preventable deaths, 85,000 avoided ER visits and $177 billion a year in health costs driven by climate change and power plant pollution. Meanwhile, Americans will pay tens of billions more in electricity bills, as fossil fuel companies and utilities rake in record profits.
"This isn’t smart policy. It isn’t a humane policy. And certainly this policy is not in the best interests of American families or the wellbeing of our environment. The EPA must reverse course and start doing its job by protecting the environment and putting the American people’s interests ahead of the billionaire polluters.”
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About the Climate Action Campaign
Climate Action Campaign (CAC) is a vibrant coalition driving ambitious, durable, equitable federal action to tackle the climate crisis. By cutting carbon pollution and accelerating the transition to clean energy, we will improve public health and create a more resilient economy and a more sustainable future for all.