Resolution 140662

..Title Supporting President Obama and The Environmental Protection Agencies' Clean Power Plan that will help reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants throughout the United States. ..Body WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia is strongly committed to promoting environmental efforts locally, regionally, and nationally. WHEREAS, the National Climate Assessment has identified extreme precipitation, flooding, declining air quality, extremely hot days, and more as observed impacts of climate change in Pennsylvania; and WHEREAS, numerous authoritative scientific bodies, including the US Global Change Research Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have recognized that carbon pollution created by the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to global warming; and WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's power plants are its largest source of carbon pollution, contributing to 47% of its total; and WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007) that greenhouse gases are "air pollutants" as defined by the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate them; and WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan sets a target of reducing the carbon emissions rate from Pennsylvania's power plants for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania 32 percent by 2030; and WHEREAS, the Clean Power Plan gives Pennsylvania the opportunity to design its own plan to meet its carbon reduction targets by investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency; and WHEREAS, energy efficiency and renewable energy like wind and solar are proven, cost-effective alternatives to burning fossil fuels, now, therefore, be it RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby request that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection work with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials to develop a plan to reduce carbon pollution from Pennsylvania's power plans and maximize the potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency. ..End