(from New York) “Listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. Look for new legal solutions”, this was said, on behalf of the US Bishops Conference, by bishop Frank J. Dewane, as he commented on the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency to repeal the clean energy plan and the national programme for the reduction of carbon emissions from US power plants. Bishop Delawe, who is at the helm of the Commission for Justice and Human Development, understands that the CPP (Clean Power Plan) is not the only possible mechanism to address climate change, but Trump’s government, after “withdrawing from the Paris agreement, is not offering an adequate alternative and is simply stripping down the plan, thus jeopardising thousands of people, especially poor people, while our leaders should adhere to the Holy Father’s moral call about the environment and propose new laws”.
The Environmental Agency’s decision was born out of a legal dispute, according to which Obama’s law had actually overridden the federal laws on the operation of power and coal plants. As adjusting them to the standards listed in the Power Plan would have been too expensive, the regulation managed to stop it working altogether, thus affecting the market. The Bishops insistently ask that carbon emissions be reduced and a national environmental protection standard be established.