AG Kaul Opposes EPA Proposal to Undermine Climate Science and Roll Back Vehicle Emissions Standards

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that Wisconsin has joined a coalition opposing the Trump Administration’s alarming effort to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and roll back all existing greenhouse gas vehicle emission standards.

To complete this rollback, the Trump Administration is attempting to rescind the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding, which was issued after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA. That decision confirmed EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that endanger public health and welfare.

As the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) reiterated just last week, “EPA’s 2009 finding that the human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases threaten human health and welfare was accurate, has stood the test of time, and is now reinforced by even stronger evidence.” EPA’s new proposal, which relies on a flawed and unlawful report issued by the Department of Energy’s Climate Working Group, seeks to reverse the 2009 finding.

“Policymaking that serves the best interests of the American people should be premised on a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges we must address,” said AG Kaul. “But rather than confront the reality of climate change, the Trump administration is attempting to distort reality.”

States and cities across the country are experiencing floods, droughts, wildfires, wildfire smoke, extreme temperatures, and storms, all of which are expected to increase.

AG Kaul joined the following multistate actions:

2009 Endangerment Finding Comment Letter

A 225-page letter submitted to the EPA yesterday urges EPA to abandon its rescission proposal, arguing that rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding would violate settled law and Supreme Court precedent, and undermine scientific consensus.

Scientific research shows every region of our country is experiencing the ongoing and significant harms of climate change and motor vehicle pollution, including changes in temperature, precipitation, and sea level rise.

Not only does EPA’s proposed rescission disregard those facts, but it also violates EPA’s legal obligations under the federal Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.

Motor Vehicles Comment Letter

In withdrawing the 2009 Endangerment Finding, EPA also proposes to repeal all existing federal greenhouse gas emissions standards for all motor vehicle classes and all years. A second letter submitted to the EPA yesterday explains that this unprecedented disruption will be catastrophic. For instance, EPA projected last year that current motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards would prevent more than 8 billion metric tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years, avoiding $1.82 trillion in climate harms. If those reductions from the federal motor vehicle greenhouse gas program alone were the emissions of a country, that country would rank No. 33 on a list of the world’s top emitters.

Repealing the regulatory program for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, as EPA now proposes, would also shutter factories, kill jobs, and undermine billions of dollars in investments by Congress, States, and local governments.

Climate Working Group Comment Letter

A comment letter filed on September 2 opposes the Climate Working Group report, which had been written in less than two months and that EPA relied on in its proposed rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding.

In the comment letter, the coalition identified numerous procedural and substantive legal flaws in the Climate Working Group report, including factual inaccuracies and omissions, disregard for well-established scientific integrity standards, and mischaracterization of overwhelming climate science research.

Climate Working Group Amicus Brief

An amicus brief filed on August 29 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Environmental Defense Fund v. Wright, supports the plaintiffs in their effort to declare the Climate Working Group’s report unlawful.

The brief argues that the Department of Energy violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by establishing and utilizing the Climate Working Group, and that this violation will harm state and local governments’ strong interest in ensuring that the federal government rely on the best available science to guide its climate policy decisions.

On September 17, the Court rejected the federal defendants’ argument that the Climate Working Group is exempt from FACA. The court granted summary judgment in part for the plaintiffs and allowed their challenge to the Climate Working Group to proceed.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.