Shaheen Statement on Trump Roll Back of Clean Power Plan

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s roll back of crucial power plant carbon emission standards that were implemented by the Obama administration. The Trump administration released new pollution rules that replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan with a new agenda that caters to the fossil fuel industry. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Trump administration’s proposed regulations would increase carbon emissions, leading up to an estimated 1,400 premature deaths each year. 

“The President’s continued efforts to undo the progress we’ve made to combat the effects of climate change are threatening the health and safety of the American people,” said Shaheen. “Rising temperatures interrupt New Hampshire’s fall foliage season and maple syrup production, directly impeding our business and tourism sectors, and elevated sea levels put the homes and livelihoods of our Seacoast families at risk. It is unconscionable that the administration is knowingly pursuing a policy that puts the wellbeing of the fossil fuel industry over American lives. The President’s actions also undermine years of work by small businesses in New Hampshire and across the nation that were incentivized under the Obama administration to prioritize technology in renewable energy and to curb carbon emissions. I’m deeply concerned by the President’s destructive efforts to unravel necessary protections that safeguard our air, water and land, and that preserve our environment and wildlife. I’ll continue to oppose the administration’s dangerous policies that put Americans’ health at risk and jeopardize the sustainability of our planet.” 

Senator Shaheen has led efforts in the Senate to combat climate change. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen traveled to Paris to participate in high-level discussions at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference that led to the international Paris climate accord. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Shaheen helped secure increased funding for several energy efficiency and renewable energy programs at the Department of Energy as part of the omnibus funding bill for fiscal year 2018. Shaheen has also consistently spoken out in opposition to the President’s anti-environment agenda, and cosponsored legislation that would rescind President Trump’s anti-climate executive order and restore our nation’s leadership role in the fight against global climate change.