Professor Charles Driscoll on the Clean Power Plan

Charles Driscoll

Syracuse University Professor Charles Driscoll, a faculty member in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, said that the Clean Power Plan announced by President Obama and the EPA will positively impact communities throughout the US.

“Our recent study published in Nature Climate Change shows that thousands of premature deaths can be avoided in the US due to reductions in emissions in pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from electric utilities, depending on how stringent the carbon standard are and how the reductions are achieved. The more the standard promotes the use of cleaner fuels and promotes energy efficiency the greater the health benefits and benefits to ecosystems,” said Professor Driscoll.

“The projected health co-benefits of the announced Clean Power Plan are substantial and are potentially important to communities across the US, particularly those who are have been historically challenged by poor air quality. It appears that in the final Clean Power Plan the co-benefits for air quality and health are lower than those projected in the draft plan and the best performing scenario analyzed in our recent paper. We are starting a new analysis of the health and ecosystem benefits associated with different implementation approaches to the final rule which will take several months to complete,” he said.

A member of the National Academy of Engineers, Professor Driscoll is a world-renowned researcher in the area of air pollution, acid rain, climate change and air quality. Professor Driscoll is available to speak to media. All inquiries can be made through Ariel DuChene, Assistant Dean for External Relations at Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, at (315) 443-2546 or adduchen@syr.edu