People are facing multiple threats to their lung health all at once: air pollution from fossil fuel use, woodburning and wildfires; various impacts of climate change; and the COVID-19 pandemic. And communities of color are faced with inequities in each of these areas of threat that put their health at greater risk. The good news is that the nation has an opportunity to curb climate change, clean up air pollution and promote health equity all at the same time. Every level of government must drive the transition from fossil fuels and combustion to clean, renewable electricity and zero-emission transportation. In particular, the White House, the U.S. Congress and federal agencies have real opportunities to take ambitious action to protect health now and in the future.
Key actions the federal government must take to promote clean air include:
President Biden: Ensure Investments in Climate Action Benefit Underserved Communities
Communities of color too often bear disproportionate burdens of air pollution because of nearby power plants, industrial facilities, highways, ports and other polluting sources. Efforts to clean up air pollution and address climate change must prioritize underserved communities with unhealthy air – not leave them behind. Any efforts to reduce emissions must ensure benefits to the communities most affected by them and ensure that no polluting facility uses offsets or emissions trading to avoid cleanup. Policies to reduce carbon emissions from power plants should maximize reductions in other air pollutants at the same time. And 40% of the nation’s investments in this transition to clean, renewable energy and zero-emission transportation must improve air quality, health and life in underserved communities. Take action now.
Congress: Pass COVID Recovery Legislation that Builds Healthier Communities
Congress is considering legislation to provide economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and investments in a healthier future, and it is critical that this legislation include measures to clean up air pollution, address climate change and ensure environmental justice. There are many ways Congressional legislation could reduce emissions, such as investing further in clean, non-combustion renewable electricity and incentivizing zero-emission cars, transit buses, school buses and trucks and the necessary infrastructure to support an electric transportation sector.
Congress: Invest in State, Local and Tribal Air Quality Programs and Monitoring
The Clean Air Act set up smart, open processes for protecting Americans from air pollution, which have enabled the U.S. to reduce some of the most common pollutants by more than 70 percent over the last 50 years. Still, these processes only work if EPA and state, local and Tribal air agencies have the funding and staffing they need to monitor air pollution and implement and enforce the law. The Lung Association calls on Congress to ensure that EPA has sufficient funding to protect public health with a full range of programs, including by meaningfully increasing investments in state, local and Tribal air quality grants. Current funding for these air agencies falls far short of what is needed to monitor and address local air quality, let alone meet the ambitious goals President Biden has set on climate change and environmental justice.
EPA: Set Stronger National Limits on Ozone and Particle Pollution
The national limits on ozone and particle pollution are too weak to fully protect health. The review process done under the previous administration failed to fully consider the current science, as required under the Clean Air Act. EPA must immediately initiate robust reviews for both the particle pollution and ozone limits and set the strongest standards supported by the science to fully protect health
EPA: Limit Methane from New and Existing Oil and Gas Sources
The oil and gas sector is the largest contributor to methane pollution in the United States. Methane is an extremely potent climate pollutant and is a precursor of ozone pollution. Volatile organic compounds, which are emitted alongside methane from oil and gas sources, also lead to ozone formation and can cause cancers, irritation of the lungs and developmental disorders. To ensure that communities are protected from leaks of dangerous air pollutants and climate-warming methane, EPA must repeal the Final Policy and Technical Amendments to the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Rule and set stronger limits on new industry sources. EPA must also set strict limits on methane from existing oil and gas sources.
EPA: Set a Strong, Long-Term Plan to Reduce Vehicle Emissions
For the nation to meet President Biden’s ambitious climate goals, it must make plans now to rapidly transition from diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles to zero-emission electric cars and trucks. EPA must set strong pollution standards including limits on greenhouse gas emissions for cars and SUVs, not just for the next few years, but for 2025 and beyond. EPA must also move forward with cleaning up trucks to dramatically reduce pollution including nitrogen oxide emissions, a key component in the formation of ozone pollution.
EPA: Clean Up Wood Heaters
Wood-burning stoves and heaters are major contributors to particle pollution in many communities. EPA has standards that require new wood heaters to be less polluting and is supposed to ensure that appliances meet those standards by certifying them and periodically testing them. Unfortunately, recent research revealed major gaps in these processes that could mean polluting stoves are being sold under the guise of being cleaner.1 EPA must ensure full implementation and enforcement of its new source standards for wood heaters.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB):Account for the Health Benefits of Cleaning Up Air Pollution
The White House Office of Management and Budget analyzes the costs and benefits of regulations before they become law. Clean air protections are very cost-effective – EPA has estimated that the benefits of rules under the Clean Air Act outweigh the costs by more than 30 to one. However, cost-benefit analyses too often fail to capture many of the health harms of air pollution or to reflect the disproportionate burden it places on some communities. OMB must make good on President Biden’s pledge to ensure that health and equity are better taken into account in its analyses.
Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases: Set a Social Cost of Carbon that Reflects Health Impacts
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that federal agencies must fully account for the costs of climate change and integrate climate change planning across the agency’s work. To do that, the federal government must set a social cost of carbon (and of other greenhouse gases) that accounts for the many health impacts of climate change.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Help Integrate Climate and Health Across the Federal Government
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Climate and Health Program, housed in the Department of Health and Human Services, helps communities across the country prepare for and meet the health impacts of climate change. This office can help ensure that health is at the center of climate conversations across the federal government as all agencies work to meet President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change.
