The Climate Docket

WHAT WE COVER:

  • Liability Litigation
    • Baltimore Lawsuit
    • California Climate Lawsuits
    • Colorado Lawsuit
    • Mass. v. Exxon
    • New York City Lawsuit
    • Rhode Island Lawsuit
    • Other Suits
  • Access to Courts
    • Liability Waivers
    • State Legislation
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / Featured / Democratic AGs Vow to Keep Fighting Trump Climate Rollbacks
Democratic AGs Vow to Keep Fighting Trump Climate Rollbacks

Democratic AGs Vow to Keep Fighting Trump Climate Rollbacks

March 6, 2019 Filed Under: Featured

print

By Dana Drugmand

Following the release of a new report that warns of the dire consequences of the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental protections, four Democratic state attorneys general vowed to continue fighting those rollbacks in court. The AGs of Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut spoke on Tuesday about their states’ commitment to protecting the climate and the health of their citizens.

“In the face of efforts to take us backwards, to ruin the health and wellbeing of the planet, we will continue to see this administration in court as we need to,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.

The report, by the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law, found that repealing and weakening existing emissions standards will be costly, deadly and will result in even more carbon emissions that drive climate change. Specifically, the regulatory rollbacks would lead to an additional 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions annually by 2025, costing hundreds of billions of dollars in forgone benefits and causing tens of thousands of additional premature deaths.  

“The Trump administration is preparing to take us over the climate cliff,” the report said.

The report details how state attorneys general are fighting against deregulation in the electric power, transportation, oil and gas, and landfill industries, which collectively account for nearly half of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis includes six federal rules governing carbon and methane pollution that the Trump administration has targeted: the Clean Power Plan, Clean Car Standards, standards on glider truck pollution, new and existing source methane standards for oil and gas production, the Waste Prevention Rule regarding methane emissions on public lands, and a rule on methane emissions from existing landfills.

“These rollbacks would provide an across-the-board pass on pollution control for four of the largest emissions sectors in the United States,” said David J. Hayes, executive director of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center. As he writes in the report’s opening, “If the administration is successful, our nation’s ability to fight climate change will be set back for years.”

Maryland AG Brian Frosh said that Trump “has become an agent of climate change.”

“In the face of what are obvious signs of climate change, this is outrageous,” he said. “We have experienced extraordinary tornadoes this week, flooding that’s unprecedented throughout our country, hurricanes that have been repetitive and unprecedented in their force. We’re watching this with our own eyes, and it’s extraordinarily reckless to say we need to burn more fossil fuels.”

“Like my colleagues here, I come from a coastal state. I come from a state that is feeling first-hand the devastating and debilitating impacts of climate change,” said Connecticut AG William Tong. “We know that it’s very challenging for Congress to take action on climate change. In that vacuum it falls to the 50 sovereign states to join forces…to defend and protect our individual states and our residents.”

Both Healey and New York Attorney General Letitia James have pursued investigations against Exxon for deceptive climate practices—with New York filing a lawsuit—and both have been vocal opponents of the climate policies of the Trump administration.

“It is no secret that climate change is greatly impacting our planet and our lives every single day,” James said. “As the Trump Administration continues to advance policies that will cause even greater harm to our resources and our health, it is up to state attorneys general to lead the fight to stop these policies and protect Americans.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Featured

Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.
Don't Miss a story
Subscribe 
We promise not to spam you. Unsubscribe at any time.
Invalid email address
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for further instructions.

Latest News

Justice Dept. to Argue on Side of Oil Companies in Supreme Court Hearing

By Karen Savage The acting solicitor general will be allowed time to argue in support of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and nearly two dozen other companies next week during oral arguments before … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Colorado Judge Rejects Oil Companies’ Attempt to Move Climate Case
  • Biden’s DOJ Could Help Swing Momentum Around Climate Cases
  • Supreme Court Questions Oil Companies’ Tactics to Shake Climate Cases
  • Will Amy Coney Barrett, Whose Father Was a Shell Attorney for Decades, Recuse from Climate Suit?

Most Popular

  • Climate Case Gets Green Light from European Union Court
  • What Oil Companies Knew About Climate Change and When: A Timeline
  • Court: Climate Impacts of Pipeline Projects Cannot Be Ignored
  • Richmond Battles Chevron, Its Biggest Employer, in Two Important Lawsuits
  • France, Home of the Paris Agreement, Faces Lawsuit for Lack of Climate Progress

Categories

  • Access to Courts
  • Baltimore Lawsuit
  • California Climate Lawsuits
  • Charleston, S.C. Lawsuit
  • Colorado Lawsuit
  • Connecticut Lawsuit
  • Delaware Lawsuit
  • Exxon Climate Investigation
  • Featured
  • Hoboken Lawsuit
  • International
  • Latest News
  • Liability Litigation
  • Liability Waivers
  • Mass. v. Exxon
  • Minnesota Lawsuit
  • New York City Lawsuit
  • Other Suits
  • Politics
  • Rhode Island Lawsuit
  • State Legislation
  • Uncategorized
  • Washington DC Lawsuit

Follow us

  • View climatedocket’s profile on Facebook
  • View climatedocket’s profile on Twitter

RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.