{"id":6381,"date":"2026-09-15T11:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?post_type=update&#038;p=6381"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T15:56:03","slug":"environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections"},"template":"","class_list":["post-6381","update","type-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","update_type-press-release","focus_tax-clean-air","focus_tax-climate-justice","focus_tax-energy-justice","person_tax-ashley-sullivan"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"featured_image":5221,"update_type":[366],"focus_area":[5,6,7],"authors":[207],"abstract":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_hero_links","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_hero_links":{"title":"","abstract":"","links":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\r\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">September 15, 2026\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact: Ashley Sullivan, <\/span><a href=\"mailto:ashley.sulivan@weact.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ashley.sulivan@weact.org<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 1 (917) 837-1183<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b>WASHINGTON - <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Environmental justice groups in the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/daretobreathe.org\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clean Air for the Long Haul cohort<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> condemn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/stationary-sources-air-pollution\/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">latest actions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to finalize the repeal of the 2024 carbon pollution standards for existing coal and new gas power plants, and supplemental proposed rulemaking denying its authority to regulate climate emissions from power plants, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/stationary-sources-air-pollution\/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced yesterday<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These efforts - part of the Agency\u2019s planned rollbacks of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/zeldins-epa-rollbacks-are-dagger-straight-into-the-heart-of-vulnerable-people-and-sell-out-to-polluters\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over 30<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> vital health and environmental protections - will add to the harm vulnerable communities of color and lower income people already face.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor decades, grassroots organizations and members of Clean Air for the Long Haul have fought hard to ensure health-protective carbon standards for frontline communities which bear the brunt of fossil fuel pollution and the <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/newsreleases\/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">catastrophic damage of the climate crisis.<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u00a0 -<\/span><\/i><strong> Beto Lugo Martinez, Executive Director, RiSE4EJ\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the cohort <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/clean-air-for-the-long-haul-statement-on-final-epa-power-plant-rules\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did not fully support<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the approach taken in the 2024 standards, EPA still has a legal duty and responsibility grounded in established science to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/power-sector\/human-health-environmental-impacts-electric-power-sector\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">protect our health and safety by regulating climate and air pollution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. According to the EPA's <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ghgemissions\/electric-power-sector-emissions\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">own data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, power plants are the second largest source of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fueling the climate crisis, while also producing hazardous air pollution linked to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC5800116\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">severe health impacts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death. The climate, health, and economic impacts of fossil fuel power plant pollution are growing and unequal, reflected in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/09\/10\/nx-s1-5964676\/scientists-august-hottest\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">world-record-breaking heat in August<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/why-energy-costs-are-exploding-and-how-we-build-a-future-where-every-community-thrives\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">soaring energy costs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lung.org\/research\/sota\/key-findings\/people-at-risk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">millions of people of color<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> breathing dirty air. Despite these realities, Trump\u2019s EPA continues to attack climate and clean air protections - including the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/as-epa-revokes-endangerment-finding-environmental-justice-organizations-continue-to-fight-to-protect-communities-from-climate-chaos-hold-epa-accountable\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">repeal of the Endangerment Finding for vehicles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> - advancing an agenda that prioritizes polluter profits over the health and lives of overburdened environmental justice communities.<\/span>\r\n<blockquote><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cEPA's repeal of the 2024 standards and attempts to deny its authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants is unjustifiable - both under the law and morally. It is a failure that falls hardest on environmental justice communities living on the frontlines of pollution and the climate crisis. Every rollback by the Trump EPA is a deliberate choice that perpetuates the cycle of communities of color and low-income neighborhoods across the country being treated as sacrifice zones by the fossil fuel industry. It means more of our children with asthma, more parents lost too soon, higher energy costs, and more of our homes and cities devastated by preventable disasters.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c We need strong protections, not policies that recklessly upend climate action and put polluter profits over our lives. WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Clean Air for the Long Haul cohort will not stop fighting to hold EPA accountable to its mission of protecting human health and the environment.\u201d <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>- Anastasia Gordon, Director of Federal Policy, WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/strong><\/span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe EPA rolling back carbon standards and weakening the Endangerment Finding<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> [for power plants] <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0is an abandonment of duty to communities across the country and a direct assault on the health and lives of communities of color and low-income communities, folks that work hard every day to provide for their families. That\u2019s compounded here in North Carolina with grants to Duke Energy for coal plants from the Trump administration of $28.4 million and $34 million to upgrade the Roxboro plant (Person County) and the Belews Creek plant (Stokes County), respectively, as Duke Energy seeks to raise rates on customers across the state. The federal government also invested $129 million in Duke Energy in June to scrap offshore wind production on North Carolina\u2019s coast. The folks of North Carolina and across the country don\u2019t deserve to pay for bad decisions and investments with their health and lives. We urge the EPA to reverse course and stand with communities.\u201d <\/span><\/i><strong>- Ayo Wilson, West End Revitalization Association Executive Director<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor too long, Latino and working-class communities have paid the price of the climate crisis through dirtier air, dangerous heat, higher energy costs, and worsening health, while fossil fuel companies continue to profit. Repealing these standards demonstrates, once again, that this administration is choosing to protect polluters\u2019 profits while asking our families to absorb the costs in higher bills, more pollution, and poorer health.\"<\/span><\/i>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\"Latino communities should not be treated as sacrifice zones for the fossil fuel industry. We will not accept a future where polluters get a free pass and our families are left with the bill. We will continue to make our voice heard and fight for the health and wellbeing of our communities.\u201d - <\/span><\/i><strong>Irene Burga, Climate Justice and Clean Air Director at GreenLatinos<\/strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;<\/blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/programs\/clean-air-for-the-long-haul\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clean Air For The Long Haul<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a nationwide coalition of environmental justice groups, coordinates federal rulemaking campaigns, centering overburdened communities, to reduce air pollution from power plants, cars, and trucks. The coalition seeks to catalyze the environmental justice movement through federal emissions reductions targeting United States power and transportation sectors. Coalition member organizations include: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drcc.org\/\">Duwamish River Community Coalition<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greendoorinitiative.org\/\">Green Door Initiative<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenlatinos.org\/\">GreenLatinos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poderaustin.org\/\">PODER Austin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/rise4ej.org\/\">RiSE4EJ,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\">WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/weranc.org\/\">West End Revitalization Association<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsingreenmuslims.org\/\">Wisconsin\/Michigan Green Muslims.<\/a><\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-15T15:56:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-15T15:53:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-15T15:56:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/\",\"name\":\"WE ACT for Environmental Justice\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","description":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","og_description":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","og_url":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/","og_site_name":"WE ACT for Environmental Justice","article_modified_time":"2026-09-15T15:56:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/","url":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/","name":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png","datePublished":"2026-09-15T15:53:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-15T15:56:03+00:00","description":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Press-Release.png","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/environmental-justice-coalition-pushes-back-to-defend-communities-against-epa-move-to-abandon-power-plant-climate-protections\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/weact.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Environmental Justice Coalition Pushes Back to Defend Communities Against EPA Move to Abandon Power Plant Climate Protections"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/weact.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/weact.org\/","name":"WE ACT for Environmental Justice","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/weact.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update\/6381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/update"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update\/6381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6384,"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update\/6381\/revisions\/6384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}