Implement proposed rules on powerplant emissions

The power sector is the largest stationary source of greenhouse gases (GHGs), emitting 25 percent of U.S. emissions that are mostly from fossil fuel combustion.[1] Standardizing GHGs emissions and limiting the use of fossil fuels in power plants is a step in protecting public health and reducing harmful pollutants.[1] The EPA estimates that its proposals would avoid approximately 1,300 premature deaths; 800 hospital and emergency room visits; 2,000 cases of asthma onset; 300,000 cases of asthma symptoms; 38,000 school absence days; and 66,000 lost work days.[1] The EPA’s proposed standards would provide an estimated $85 billion in climate and public health benefits over the next two decades,[1] an annual net benefit of approximately $6 billion.[2]

For more than a decade, the EPA has acknowledged that GHG emissions negatively impact public health and welfare.[3] Evidence shows that climate stressors, like GHG emissions, affect mental health, resulting in what is referred to as “climate anxiety.”[4] Factors like geography, pre-existing conditions, socioeconomic and demographic inequalities may increase the likelihood of climate change impacting mental health.[5] Extreme weather, including increases in wildfires and wildfire smoke, heat waves, hurricanes, flooding, and other climate-related disasters, negatively affects mental health. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults have reported anxiety about climate change, and increased temperatures have been shown to increase mental health emergency departments visits and even suicide attempts. Air pollution has also been directly tied to increased risk of mental health disorders.[6] By addressing the fossil fuel-fired power plants’ impact on the environment, the EPA’s proposed standards will directly benefit those more likely to experience mental health conditions.