Clean power, Jewish voices

Earlier this month, the Obama administration finalized the Clean Power Plan, which would cut carbon pollution from power plants by 32 percent — the equivalent of taking 166 million cars off the road. 

“These are the first-ever national standards that address carbon pollution from power plants,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which adds that power plants are the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States. 

Each state will have the flexibility to write its own plan and will be encouraged to use clean and renewable energy solutions such as wind and solar power to meet the plan’s goals. These include increasing the nation’s use of clean and renewable energy by 30 percent, spurring new energy-efficient industries, and dramatically improving the health of U.S. citizens by reducing the factors that could lead to 3,600 premature deaths and saving 90,000 children from asthma attacks.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is a partner with COEJL — the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life — and its Jewish Energy Covenant Campaign, which calls for support for more sources of clean, renewable energy out of concern for the well-being of all nations, for the security of Israel and the United States, and in the name of justice for the world’s poor and for its future generations. They believe the Jewish community brings distinctive resources to the challenge of climate change and note how synagogues, Jewish schools, and organizations have been active in efforts to nurture and repair the environment.

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As part of this commitment, and in anticipation of critical climate negotiations in Paris at the end of the year, the JCPA is calling on lawmakers to support strong policies to combat global climate change, both here and around the world. JCPA hopes Jews will put aside partisan politics and encourage Congress to support the Clean Power Plan.