I was proud to join nearly 400,000 citizens from all corners of the nation, including a large group of Granite Staters, who recently marched through the streets of New York City to demand that our political leaders respond to this global challenge. The largest demonstration of its kind ever held, the march provides a strong foundation for efforts to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, the nation’s single most significant contributor to climate change.
Climate change is already taking its toll on New Hampshire. Rising sea levels threaten coastal communities, and the city of Portsmouth is already hard at work on developing adaptation strategies.
Warming temperatures are causing negative effects on the health of our wildlife, from moose to fish to birds. Our maple sugaring and ski industries are projected to suffer in future years if no action is taken to reduce carbon emissions. The public health effects of carbon pollution are becoming more apparent with respiratory diseases and asthma attacks expected to increase as a result of dirty air and increased temperatures. The impact of these changes on New Hampshire’s economy are significant. While some argue that the economic cost of taking action is too much to bear in a fragile recovery, the cost of inaction is greater and will increase these threats.
Amid the dire and growing effects of climate change, the good news is that there are workable solutions that will both reduce the threat and benefit the economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed the Clean Power Plan earlier this year, providing a flexible strategy for states to meet a national standard to reduce power plant carbon pollution by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Power plants account for 40 percent of carbon pollution in the United States, and while there are limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other pollutants can be dumped into the atmosphere, there are no national limits on carbon pollution. The Clean Power Plan will help protect us from the health and economic impacts of climate change.
The Clean Power Plan will also promote economic growth, building upon proven strategies that are already helping to grow the economy and reduce carbon pollution at the same time. New Hampshire, along with its New England and northeast neighbors, is part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which has injected more than $1.6 billion into the regional economy, providing funds for energy conservation projects and the development of alternative sources of clean energy production. RGGI has also saved consumers more than $1.1 billion in their electric bills in the first three years of the program’s operation. Commonsense solutions such as RGGI and the Clean Power Plan are strongly supported by voters and elected officials of all political stripes.
There is a lot of work to do to respond to the very real threats that climate change represents, and all levels of our community need to be involved in forging solutions. Let us continue that work together.
