Carbon Nation: Pushing for a Stronger Clean Power Plan

Earthjustice urges the EPA to strengthen the proposed Clean Power Plan by increasing pollution reduction targets to 35-40% below 2005 levels by 2020, correcting baselines that ignore existing coal plant retirements (noting 68 gigawatts have already retired or announced intent to do so versus the EPA's 49 gigawatt assumption), and implementing rigorous monitoring and enforcement requirements, including citizen suit provisions.

• Earthjustice supports the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan but argues that the standards should be strengthened because the current plan relies too heavily on endorsing existing advances rather than driving immediate, significant action.
• Earthjustice proposes that the EPA set more aggressive pollution reduction targets, specifically calling for reductions of 35 to 40 percent from the energy sector below 2005 levels by 2020, and even greater reductions by 2030, noting that current targets give states 15 years to reach goals that are already half achieved.
• The EPA's baseline for state pollution reduction goals is criticized for underestimating achievable results by failing to account for existing coal plant retirements. While the EPA assumed 49 gigawatts of retirements by 2020, nearly 68 gigawatts have already retired or announced intent to do so. In Pennsylvania, the 2012 baseline includes 11 coal plants that have already retired or announced intent to retire, meaning the baseline is already below the level the EPA assumed the state could achieve through re-dispatching.
• Earthjustice emphasizes that practical enforceability is essential for the Clean Power Plan's success. They recommend that the plan clearly establish responsibility for reductions, ensure public rights to seek enforcement via the Clean Air Act’s citizen suit provision, and define self-correction provisions and penalties for non-compliance.

APA

Fisk, S. (2014). Carbon Nation: Pushing for a Stronger Clean Power Plan. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/article/pushing-for-a-stronger-clean-power-plan

Chicago

Fisk, Shannon. Carbon Nation: Pushing for a Stronger Clean Power Plan. Earthjustice, 2014. https://earthjustice.org/article/pushing-for-a-stronger-clean-power-plan.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fisk |first1=Shannon |title=Carbon Nation: Pushing for a Stronger Clean Power Plan |publisher=Earthjustice |date=5 August 2014 |url=https://earthjustice.org/article/pushing-for-a-stronger-clean-power-plan |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fisk2014carbon, author = {Fisk, Shannon}, title = {{Carbon Nation: Pushing for a Stronger Clean Power Plan}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {https://earthjustice.org/article/pushing-for-a-stronger-clean-power-plan}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }