Dear President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan:

As people of faith and conscience, our values call us to love our neighbors and to be good stewards of our Sacred Earth. For more than a decade, people of faith have advocated for strong safeguards against climate pollution from power plants. Since then, the climate crisis has only accelerated, taking an enormous toll on human life, our communities, and our world. 

We are parents, seniors, doctors, young people, small business owners, and families living in communities across America, all concerned about power plant pollution in our neighborhoods and the impacts of climate change. 

We are extremely grateful to you for the work you have done since 2021 to tackle the climate crisis and clean up our air, including:

• Passing the largest ever climate and clean energy investments in the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
• Committing resources to build out our clean energy future in the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA)
• Dedicating your climate and clean energy policies to advancing environmental justice and serving communities of color through the Justice40 initiative
• Working to set stronger standards for dangerous pollution like mercury, methane, soot, wastewater, and other power plant pollution
• Taking the initial steps to slash carbon pollution from new and existing power plants.

However, we know we have just a short window of time to finalize these important protections. There’s no time to wait to act on the climate crisis, and the Administration must finalize them by May so that Congress cannot overturn them. 

Our communities have experienced the severe repercussions of climate change: wildfires, drought, excessive heat, superstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods that cause damage, injury, and loss of life. But the crisis does not impact us equally, communities of color and historically vulnerable communities are the hardest hit by the climate crisis and are more likely to experience health impacts because of climate pollution.

It is the moral responsibility of our nation, and our sacred task as people of faith, to protect our ecosystems, advance environmental justice and public health, and address the climate crisis. We call on you to act to protect our communities and our common home. 

As President of the United States and Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you both have vast responsibility and authority to protect our health. 

Our health – and our climate – can’t wait! It’s time to act boldly and swiftly to finalize and implement the strongest possible pollution standards by May of 2024 to meet your climate, public health, and environmental justice goals

Sincerely,