CCAN Condemns Reckless Geoengineering Deployment Amid MAKE SUNSETS Controversy

Climate organization highlights dangers of unregulated solar geoengineering, calls for scientific research and transparency.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) strongly condemns any private entity that recklessly deploys solar geoengineering techniques in any form. A private company called Make Sunsets is trying to make money by releasing sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere via hot air balloons and selling so-called “cooling credits” for every ton of carbon dioxide they offset. (Spoiler: that’s not how offsetting works). CCAN sees this as a scam, designed to make a quick buck off of science that still requires much more extensive research before any decisions can be made about its potential deployment.

CCAN supports careful research on solar geoengineering to better understand this process and what role it could potentially play in temporarily reducing the worst effects of a warming planet while we continue the clean energy transition. We need government-funded and transparent research into the topic, and not unaccountable actions by private entities.

Quentin Scott, Federal Policy Director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement:   

“The existence of companies like Make Sunsets is precisely why CCAN supports public-funded research and opposes private money in both solar geoengineering testing and deployment. Research must be held to the highest bar, conducted with full transparency, and developed in a way that explicitly benefits the public good – not corporate profit margins.

“CCAN is speaking out in strong opposition to the work of this renegade firm because it is a dangerous distraction from the serious scientific research that needs to be done. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposition to Make Sunsets is hypocritical and factually inaccurate. EPA says that Make Sunsets may be adversely impacting air quality, but the truth is that the sulfur dioxide that this company releases is dispersed too high in the atmosphere to impact the air we breathe. 

“Additionally, the EPA’s pretense of using the Clean Air Act to threaten Make Sunsets is absurd when the administration is repeatedly attacking that same landmark legislation in the courts, Congress, and public discourse. If the EPA truly stood for the principle of protecting pristine air for all Americans, they would enforce the Clean Air Act provisions that they are Congressionally mandated to enforce instead of making up new ones.” 

CCAN Applauds Historic New EPA Standards To Crack Down on Power-Plant Pollutants

CCAN Applauds Historic New EPA Rules to Crack Down on Power-Plant Pollutants

As the EPA finalizes new rules to put a stop to harmful fossil-fuel pollutants, climate activists look forward to the next steps

Washington, D.C. — On April 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a historic package of standards restricting pollution from fossil-fuel power plants throughout the nation. The new regulations require that existing coal and new gas power plants cut or capture 90% of their emissions, update and strengthen the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) limiting toxic metal contamination, and mandate safe disposal of coal ash and toxic wastewater. Climate activists celebrated the release of the new rules as a major victory for public health and clean energy.

Communities and families across America will benefit from EPA enacting these rules in a variety of ways including: 

  • The power plant carbon pollution rule is expected to prevent 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms in 2035 and prevent up to 1,200 premature deaths. 

  • The updated MATS regulations are projected to result in $130 million in climate benefits between 2028 and 2037. 

  • These rules will reduce a wide range of toxic pollutants like arsenic, selenium, and other heavy metals that can cause cancer; and harm to the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system. These rules will also reduce pollutants that lead to developmental delays, learning disabilities, and birth defects.

Quentin Scott, Federal Director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), made the following statement in response to the newly finalized rules: 

“Low-income communities and communities of color who disproportionately live near fossil fuel power plants have been waiting far too long. The fight to update these standards spanned multiple administrations but President Biden and Administrator Regan promised they would get it done– and now they did it! This is a big step in the right direction toward righting past wrongs done to environmental justice communities. We aren’t done, but days like these get us excited for the work to come.”

Unfortunately, not all utilities will look at these rules as an opportunity to change their business priorities, but instead see it as a last chance to saddle rate-payers with a financial boondoggle. They’ve already started. Dominion Energy has proposed a 1,000 MW gas plant in Chesterfield, Virginia and Duke Energy has proposed 10 new gas plants in their service territories. We’re ramping up our members and partners for the next phase of this fight for a cleaner, safer future.”

The package of EPA standards has now been finalized from the agency’s perspective. However, they are now subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to reverse agency standards. Senator Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia has already promised to file a motion in the coming weeks to reverse these rules. It’s unclear if U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will bring the motion for a vote.  

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Historic climate bill just passed! This changes EVERYTHING!

I will remember today for the rest of my life. Today The House of Representatives passed The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and sent it to President Biden for his signature. Today kicks off a clean energy revolution that will save thousands of lives, prevent countless climate disasters, and shape the carbon record for millennia.

CCANers thanking their Congressman for passing Inflation Reduction Act
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While it is not perfect, this groundbreaking legislation will reduce US emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, create 1.4 million new jobs, expand the U.S. economy by nearly one full percentage point, and prevent up to 3,900 premature deaths annually, mostly in communities of color. It will also expand health insurance and lower the cost of prescription drugs.

The Inflation Reduction Act is the first sweeping climate legislation to be passed by Congress, and it would not have been possible without the advocacy we have been doing for years. Thank you. It has been an honor to build this movement together with you. Now our job is to build more power and pass even bolder legislation. We must make this the first, and the smallest, climate legislation Congress passes.

CCAN Action Fund is enthusiastically applauding House passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. A side agreement of the bill, however, could accelerate approval of oil and gas pipelines, drawing fierce opposition from groups like CCAN Action Fund with pledges to defeat this separate measure in September.

The climate features of the bill are described in more detail here. CCAN Action Fund advocated for the removal of the provisions that would open up new leases for fossil fuel extraction, and we are disappointed to see that these provisions were included in the final bill. We will continue our decades-long practice of fighting all fossil fuel infrastructure.

While the Inflation Reduction Act does not affect the Mountain Valley Pipeline in any way, its passage is linked to a separate bill to greenlight the Mountain Valley Pipeline through a deal between Senators Manchin and Schumer. Even as we celebrate our representatives for finally passing sweeping climate legislation, we need to let them know that they must vote against ANY legislation that facilitates construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Please, take a moment to contact your representative about their vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, and demand they block the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Statement from Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and CCAN Action Fund:

“Today’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act by the US House of Representatives is a game-changing step in the fight to rescue our planet from extreme climate change. The bill will be remembered as a turning point in the nation’s move to ‘electrify everything’ with clean energy while protecting our most vulnerable communities from climate impacts and energy cost burdens.

“In the Chesapeake region of Maryland, Virginia, DC, and West Virginia, this bill will greatly incentivize manufacturing for wind and solar energy systems while growing our offshore wind industry with smart and strategic tax credits. It will mean many more affordable electric cars throughout our region with a rapidly growing network of charging stations in addition to funding for more walkable communities.

“Also, thanks to the tireless efforts of Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, this bill will create America’s first national Green Bank with $9 billion. The bank will transform American homes with loans and grants for heat pumps, electric water heating systems, and other low- and zero-carbon energy systems.”

“Many thanks also to Stacey Abrams of Georgia. Her tireless efforts over the years to register Georgia voters and fight for justice led directly to the US Senate election victories of Rafael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in 2021. Without Abrams’ visionary efforts, the Senate would not have had the votes to win today on climate and prescription drugs. Period.”

“But the climate fight will be far from over. We must do more to right the wrongs of climate injustice and continue our effort to make communities of color, that have been disproportionately impacted, whole again. CCAN Action Fund is committed with hundreds of other groups to stopping any ‘permit reform’ legislation – proposed for a September vote – that could ease approval of unimaginably destructive fossil fuel pipelines like the Mountain Valley Pipeline proposed for West Virginia and Virginia. We will fight as hard to stop that bill as we’ve fought to pass this climate bill.”

 

Again, please take a moment to contact your representative about their vote on the Inflation Reduction Act, and demand they block the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Take Action

Learn more about the campaign to pass a federal climate bill through budget reconciliation

Happy CCANers on Capitol Hill