Jordan Schneider
Policy Analyst
America’s power plants are among the leading global sources of the dangerous carbon pollution that is fueling global warming. In fact, in 2012 U.S. power plants produced more carbon pollution than India’s entire economy. With the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed Clean Power Plan, America now has a blueprint for bold action that would cut power plant pollution by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. In America’s Dirtiest Power Plants, we document the scale of U.S. power plant pollution and the urgent need to strengthen and implement the Clean Power Plan as a first step toward addressing global warming.
Policy Analyst
America’s power plants are among the leading global sources of the dangerous carbon pollution that is fueling global warming. Devastating droughts such as the one in California, massive wildfires, increased threats to coastal areas due to sea level rise, and an increase in extreme rainfall are among the impacts that science tells us will become more frequent and severe unless the United States and the world take action now to reduce carbon pollution.
To address this threat, in June 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took a bold step to reduce carbon pollution from power plants by proposing the Clean Power Plan, which would cut pollution from power plants by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Cleaning up power plants is one of the most important steps the U.S. can take to reduce the threat of global warming. In 2012, U.S. power plants produced more carbon pollution than the entire economies of Russia, India, Japan or any other nation besides China. In fact, the 50 dirtiest U.S. power plants alone – representing less than 1 percent of U.S. power plants – produced as much pollution in 2012 as the nation of South Korea (the world’s seventh leading emitter of greenhouse gases).
To reduce the threat of global warming, the United States must strengthen and implement the Clean Power Plan, while encouraging other nations to agree to take similar bold action at the international climate conference in Paris in 2015.
U.S. power plants are among the most significant sources of global warming pollution in the world.
Table ES-1. The Dirtiest U.S. Power Plants Produce Globally Significant Amounts of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Pollution
Figure ES-1. In 2012, U.S. Power Plants Produced Nearly as Much CO2 Pollution as Canada, Mexico and All Countries in South America Combined
A small handful of the dirtiest coal plants produce a massive and disproportionate share of the nation’s global warming pollution.
Figure ES-2. Share of Total U.S. CO2 Emissions Produced by Power Plants and U.S Power-Sector Emissions by Fuel Type, 2012
Figure ES-3. Dirty Power Plants Make an Outsized Contribution to U.S. Carbon Dioxide Pollution (Million Metric Tons – MMT, 2012)
[CAPTION: Figure is drawn to scale.]
New pollution standards for U.S. power plants announced by the Environmental Protection Agency in June 2014 will result in important reductions in carbon emissions on the global scale.
However, the United States must do more to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. The United States should cut overall emissions of global warming pollution by at least 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. This will require action at all levels of government.
Policy Analyst