Jessica King, jessica.king@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. – At a U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing today, congressional Republicans continued repeating disproven claims about the impact of the Biden administration’s efforts to address air pollution from dirty fossil fuel power plants, wrongly alleging the common sense policies will threaten grid reliability.
A recent analysis of 2022’s Winter Storm Elliot, which caused widespread power outages, revealed that nearly half of all unplanned outages in the deadly storm were caused by methane gas failures. By contrast, this summer–the hottest on record–renewable resources provided a critical “lifeline” to energy grids as fossil fuel resources failed due to extreme heat. Today, mature technologies like wind, solar, and battery storage can provide enough energy and capacity to avoid grid outages.
The Biden administration's suite of actions on air pollution will save lives, help the U.S. curtail its greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and make progress toward improving public health and achieving its climate commitments. For example, the recently finalized National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulate matter will bring as much as $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032, when the standards are in full effect.
In response, Sierra Club Director of Climate Policy Patrick Drupp release the following statement:
“Today’s hearing feels like deja vu, as congressional Republicans repeat the same tired, disproven claims provided by their friends in the fossil fuel industry. The true threat to grid reliability is not common sense, science-based steps to address air pollution – it’s insufficient action to address the climate crisis.
“If we fail to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, extreme weather events will become even more frequent and severe, threatening our families, our economy, and our grid. While Republican politicians and their fossil fuel allies cling to outdated and inefficient coal plants, the Biden administration is taking meaningful steps toward a more liveable future and reducing climate-destabilizing emissions at the source.”
Sierra Club experts are available to discuss further as needed.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.