More than 9,000 representatives gathered for a United Nations conference for climate change. Organizers called the meeting to work toward a treaty to fight rising temperature on our planet.
They were protesting what they considered a lack of progress toward a deal to limit carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions. Studies have shown links between such gases and the rise in temperature.
The EPA was seeking comments as it considers tightening clean air rules for coal burning power plants.
He spoke at the EPA hearing in support of his home state Kentucky which is a major coal producer.
"By now, it is clear this administration and your agency have declared a war on coal, for Kentucky it means a war on jobs and our state's economy."
He fears that new rules could bring even greater hardship to an area that is already economically depressed.
That have very little understanding of what the outcome is for local forks - for forks that get up and go to work every day and what that impact will be their families in the future, and that's wrong.
He says it is a duty of EPA to control carbon as a pollutant. He wants the agency to establish new rules that will move the United States toward a cleaner energy environment.
"No one is proposing standards that would knock out all those power plants. We are talking about a shift from the dirtier ones to the cleaner ones from all those fossil-fuel powered ones toward renewable and even nuclear sources energy."
He says the government is responsible for clean air, not protecting old and dirty power stations.
"That is the only way that we can continue to have the way of life what we want without running a wall on climate change impacts which in turn will come back to destroy the quality of life we have."