Hundreds of mayors unite against Trump reversal of Obama-era climate plan

Hundreds of mayors representing cities in 47 states and territories have signed a letter opposing the Trump administration’s move to roll back the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP).

In a letter addressed to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt, 236 U.S. mayors wrote that the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back the environmental restrictions would have “devastating health and economic impacts on their communities.”

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“We strongly oppose the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, which would put our citizens at risk and harm our efforts to address the urgent threat of climate change,” the letter to Pruitt reads.

“The legal authority of cities and other municipalities generally extends only as far as their state governments and federal law allow, and as a result, our local efforts to address climate change are highly sensitive to national policies like the Clean Power Plan, which shape markets, steer state action, and have large direct impacts on nationwide emissions,” it continues.

The EPA has been considering a plan to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of former President Obama’s environmental agenda, since at least October.

“The Obama administration pushed the bounds of their authority so far with the CPP that the Supreme Court issued a historic stay of the rule, preventing its devastating effects to be imposed on the American people while the rule is being challenged in court,” Pruitt said in a statement last year.

“We are committed to righting the wrongs of the Obama administration by cleaning the regulatory slate. Any replacement rule will be done carefully, properly, and with humility, by listening to all those affected by the rule.”

The final version of the CPP was unveiled in 2015, and aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electrical power generation by 32 percent by 2030. President Trump signed an executive order last March ordering the EPA to review the rule for a possible repeal.