Wednesday, July 31, 2013

President Obama's Climate Action Plan: EPA Meets With African Americans

EPA held a meeting yesterday with African American stakeholders to discuss President Obama's Climate Action Plan. New EPA Chief of Staff Gwen Fleming addressed the group.  The meeting was held at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC.  The last African American roundtable meeting was held on May 17, 2013.

There are three basic components to the plan:

1) Cut Carbon Pollution in America:

The Obama Administration is putting in place tough new rules to cut carbon pollution to protect the health and move our economy toward American-made clean energy sources that will create good jobs and lower home energy bills.

2) Prepare the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change:

The Obama Administration will help state and local governments strengthen roads, bridges, and shorelines in order to better protect people’s homes, businesses and way of life from severe weather.

3) Lead International Efforts to Combat Global Climate Change and Prepare for its Impacts:

The Obama Administration intends tof orge a global solution to this global challenge by galvanizing international action to significantly reduce emissions (particularly among the major emitting countries), prepare for climate impacts, and drive progress through the international negotiations.

EPA and participating stakeholders discussed how African Americans could contribute to mitigating climate change adn how the agency might assist them with information and outreach.  It was a very dynamic meeting and participants agreed to follow up on recommendations discussed in the meeting.

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