By Jessica Kennedy
Editorial assistant, Summer 2012

Faith leaders from across the country testified for the environment in Washington, D.C., Thursday in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s first-ever proposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants.

The proposed limits would cut 123 billion pounds of carbon emissions annually. Power plants in the United States currently emit 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. New plants would be limited to no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon per megawatt hour of power produced.

“We feel this is a good move in the right direction to protect our air quality for future generations, which is one of the reasons why the faith community is involved,” said Trieste Lockwood, director of Virginia Interfaith Power and Light.

Religious leaders spoke out from many branches of Interfaith Power and Light, a religious group working against global warming.

In March, the Obama administration proposed the first rules to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new power plants in the U.S. According to the EPA, electricity generation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the country.

Public comment on the proposed limits will end June 25.