(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has committed the State of Connecticut to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance – a coalition of countries, regions, states, and businesses that are committed to phasing out traditional coal power and placing a moratorium on new traditional coal power stations.
The alliance, which was co-founded by Canada and the United Kingdom in the fall of 2017, has over 50 members. Connecticut currently has only one coal fired plant in use, Bridgeport Harbor Station, which has already committed to cease burning coal by 2021. By joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, Connecticut is committed to prohibiting construction of any new coal-fired power plants in the future.
Governor Malloy today also announced that he has directed the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to develop regulations that will phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a group of potent greenhouse gases known to contribute to climate change and are used in a variety of applications.
“Climate change is the most significant global threat of our lifetime, we have seen its impacts firsthand this summer from wildfires in California to the powerful Hurricane Florence on the east coast,” Governor Malloy said. “While President Trump intends to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, Connecticut refuses to listen to coal lobbyists and climate change deniers when setting environmental policy. If the federal government will not act to mitigate the impacts of climate change, it is incumbent upon states to act to protect the one planet that we have. By joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance, and phasing out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, Connecticut is sustaining its commitment to hold true to the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
The Governor made the announcements while meeting with several of the nation’s governors leading scientists at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. He is also participating this week in meetings of the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of U.S. states that are committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement. Governor Malloy committed Connecticut as a member of that alliance last year.
“The science is clear – coal burning and hydrofluorocarbon use significantly contributes to climate change, for which we witness the impacts of on a near daily basis,” DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said. “As we are fond at saying at DEEP, the work we do impacts not just those alive today, but those who will be born 100 years from now. Without bold and immediate action by leaders from across the globe, future generations will be left to ask why our generation did not act to address the impacts of climate change when we had the chance. Today Connecticut is standing up to protect those future generations.”
HFCs are amongst the fasting growing group of short-lived climate pollutants, and the transition to alternatives is vital in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and Connecticut’s own Global Warming Solution Act, as well as limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Over the next few months, DEEP will begin the rulemaking process to develop regulations to adopt the 2015 and 2016 changes to the federal Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) regarding hydrofluorocarbons. The SNAP rule, which was recently weakened by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, would have had a significant impact in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. HFCs are commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning.
This press release was first published on the CT.gov website.