Climate Actions Speak Louder Than Words
American Electric Power says it wants to act responsibly on climate change, but still irresponsibly funds opponents of the EPA's efforts to act on climate. Tell American Electric Power to stop funding the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and US Chamber of Commerce.
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Tell American Electric Power: Stop Funding Opponents of the Clean Power Plan American Electric Power's power plants are a major source of heat-trapping carbon pollution in the United States, so it's a big deal when this utility company says, "...we recognize the need to responsibly address the issue of climate change." But actions speak louder than words. American Electric Power still irresponsibly funds opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, including the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and the US Chamber of Commerce. Tell American Electric Power that responsible electric utilities do not fund special interest groups that stand in the way of climate action. We can win this one. American Electric Power took some positive steps forward earlier this year when it severed its longtime ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that disputes the causes of climate change and opposes any EPA limits on global warming emissions. "We are reallocating our resources as we focus on our work with the states around the Clean Power Plan," the company said at the time. Since then, CEO Nick Akins has been touting the Clean Power Plan as a catalyst for transitioning from coal to cleaner sources of power, such as wind and solar. Meanwhile, the US Chamber of Commerce's list of policy priorities for 2016 includes opposing the Clean Power Plan and the EPA's official science-based finding that heat-trapping emissions contribute to climate change and endanger public health, welfare, and the environment. We need to send American Electric Power a message: responsible utility companies do not fund attacks on the EPA's first-ever limits on carbon pollution from power plants.