Climate groups such as the People's Climate Movement (PCM) have come in opposition of the supposed removal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) courtesy of the United States Administration under President Donald Trump. The group stresses a need to oppose this move as it poses a great risk to the environmental safety of the planet.
According to a PCM press release sent to Nature World News, invalidating the Clean Power Plan will remove all the protections that allow the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate various potential hazards to the environment. This includes pollutants such as carbon dioxide.
The Clean Power Plan is, after all, an important part of ensuring the climate change is curbed and the US will be able to transition to a cleaner energy economy.
Paul Getsos, PCM National Coordinator, said that this move will put the entire world at grave risk. This also sends a negative message that says the United States may very well be in fact more focused on profits over protecting the environment.
Getsos added that the move will only cement speculations that the Trump Administration is really committed to undermine progress related to environmental justice.
In opposition to this movement, the PCM is planning a mass mobilizaton called a "March for Climate, Jobs and Justice" on April 29. This will take place in Washington, DC, in the hopes of pushing the Adiministration to find better way sto protect the planet.
Numerous supporters of the March gave their respective comments about the benefits of the Clean Power Plan, and their opposition to its removal.
For instance, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. of the Hip Hop Caucus said that fossil fuels and carbon are directly linked to climate change and environmental pollution. Unfortunately, climate change deniers like Scott Pruitt may be obscuring the truth of this occurrence to ensure profit.
Tom BK Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network added that the removal of the Clean Power Plan is an "act of aggression" against the sacredness of the environment. Luisa Blue of the Service Employees International Union said that not only does the removal of the Clean Power Plan harms the environment, but poses great health risks to communities as well.
Patrick Carolan of the Franciscan Action Network said that this also goes against Pope Francis' recent letter in Laudato Si, where he acknowledged that everyone should do his or her part to curb climate change. According to Tom Steyer of NextGen, even jobs can be affected as the removal of the Clean Power Plan can destroy job opportunities generated by clean energy.
The PCM is a coalition composed of 50 groups all set to make bolder and better solutions that tackle climate change that can both help boost the US economy and uphold racial justice. They are composed of various faith-based groups, labor unions, indigenous groups, and civil rights and environmental justice groups.