The Lung Association advocates for stronger measures to clean up pollution from power plants, with the ultimate goal of switching to clean, non-combustion electricity. These measures are critical for cleaning up air pollution and for addressing climate change.
The burning of fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal at power plants emits a host of harmful air pollution, including carbon dioxide that drives climate change and other emissions like particulate matter, carbon dioxide, mercury, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Burning other fuels in power plants besides fossil fuels, such as biomass or trash, produces harmful emissions too. Learn more about the health impacts of power plant emissions.
The switch to clean electricity will have enormous health benefits. The Lung Association’s series of reports, starting with “Zeroing In on Healthy Air,” tally the health harms that would be avoided if the nation transitioned to 100% clean, non-combustion electricity, coupled with zero-emission transportation. In total, that transition would save 110,000 lives with health benefits totaling $1.2 trillion. Learn more.
In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced tighter limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants and rules to limit carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and future gas-fired power plants. The new rules are a huge win and are an important step towards curbing toxic power plant pollution and carbon pollution that is driving the climate crisis. Learn more.
Join us in thanking the administration for finalizing these new protections and calling on them to get additional clean air and climate measures across the finish line: take action.
Page last updated: September 10, 2024
