Delaware governor Jack Markel, along with the Congressional delegation, expressed support for the U.S Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan to curb carbon emission by 30 percent in the next 16 years.
The EPA introduced the initiative on Monday, which also urged different states to work together in reducing carbon emissions. According to the plan, effective implementation of policies may reduce the country's carbon emissions by as much as 30 percent by 2030. The EPA added that the bid would improve citizens' health, as well as provide up to $93 billion in climate and public health benefits.
"I think it makes a lot of sense that we take better control of our emissions. We've made great progress here in Delaware, we've reduced emissions over the last five years more than any other state in the country, and we'd like to see that progress continue around the country," said Gov. Markell to Delaware Public Media, as reported by the Delaware NPR News Station. Markell is also a member of President Barack Obama's climate change task force.
According to the most recent report by the DNREC, air pollution in Delaware was reduced by 50 percent from 2011 to 2012. The researchers attributed the drastic decrease in the initiatives implemented to clean up and regulate the operations of the Indian River Generating Plant of NGR.
DNREC secretary Collin O' Mara stated that Delaware was on track to meeting the new federal state standards on pollution by continuing such efforts. The secretary also announced that 90 percent of the pollution found in Delaware was from neighboring states.
Markell continued to highlight the importance of cooperation from other states to successfully contain carbon emissions. He explained that in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), Delaware and eight other states agreed to curb emissions from their power plants by 40 percent or more since 2005.
