Arnold Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on President Obama’s Plan to Use the Clean Air Act to Cut Carbon Pollution from Existing Power Plants
Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy’s announcement that the EPA will use the Clean Air Act to carry out President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants:
“You only need to look at the decades of scientific research and at the epic droughts and superstorms to know that we can’t wait any longer to take action on climate change.
I applaud President Obama for using every tool at his disposal and not waiting for Congress or a new international treaty. California and nine eastern states have used similar policies, including an effective cap-and-trade system, which can serve as a national model to help our country achieve the President’s goals.
The experiences of those states also prove that this is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it's a people issue. I hope that the President's action today is just the first step toward a sustainable energy future.”
As California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger used executive action and signed laws that made the state cleaner, more sustainable, and more prosperous. He championed large new solar and wind energy projects; the Million Solar Roofs Initiative; the Hydrogen Highway for clean cars; and the Low Carbon Fuels Standard to make cleaner fuels available to everyone.
In 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which set a goal of reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 to the 1990 level. A centerpiece of the law was a provision requiring polluters to cap emissions. An emission permit trading system was implemented to help businesses meet these goals. Despite opposition from out-of-state oil companies and other major polluters California’s cap-and-trade market opened in 2013 and quickly became the global standard. California’s carbon market is stable, predictable and profitable. Not only has it helped California reduce its carbon emissions it has helped create jobs and generated revenue that is helping small businesses throughout America invest in clean technology and products.
About the USC Schwarzenegger Institute
The USC Schwarzenegger Institute is committed to advancing post-partisanship, by which leaders put people over political parties and work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve. Housed in the Sol Price School of Public Policy, the Institute focuses on state and global policy, bringing the best thought leaders together from business, government, nonprofits and academia, where together they work to develop real-world, sustainable solutions to the critical issues of our day. More information about the Institute can be found at https://schwarzenegger.usc.edu/.
About the R20
The R20 Regions of Climate Action a non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other global leaders in cooperation with the United Nations. The R20 is a coalition of partners led by regional governments that work to promote and implement projects that are designed to produce local economic and environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; strong local economies; improved public health; and new green jobs. These local actions can help the world achieve our shared global environmental and economic goals. More information about the R20 can be found at http://regions20.org/.
June 2, 2014
Media Contact: Kim Ericksen
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