State’s AG and coalition, target EPA attempt to deny climate change
State’s AG and coalition, target EPA attempt to deny climate change
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James is co-leading a coalition of attorneys general, counties, and cities in a series of actions opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unlawful proposal to rescind its landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding, which established that greenhouse gas emissions drive climate change and pose a threat to public health and welfare.
Attorney General James and the coalition assert that the administration’s proposal would irreversibly damage the nation’s efforts to combat the climate crisis by abandoning the fight to regulate harmful air pollution, according to a press release from the AG’s office.
“Climate change is real, it is dangerous, and it is already hurting communities in New York and across the nation,” James said in the release. “With this reckless proposal, the EPA is ignoring science in favor of abandoning its responsibility to protect the American people. Rolling back these critical protections would worsen asthma, heart disease, and premature deaths, and put vulnerable communities at even greater risk. My office will always fight to defend science, protect public health, and hold the federal government accountable.”
In a comment letter submitted to EPA on Monday, James and the coalition argue that rescinding the Endangerment Finding would violate settled law, binding Supreme Court precedent, and overwhelming scientific consensus. The coalition warns that reversing course would endanger the health and safety of millions of Americans, particularly vulnerable populations such as children, seniors, low-income communities, and workers already disproportionately harmed by climate change and air pollution. The coalition points to harms like extreme heat, worsening storms, wildfires, and flooding as examples of the growing threats that would be impacted by abandoning these protections – protections that the EPA is legally obligated to uphold under the Clean Air Act, which requires EPA to regulate air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions, that endanger public health and welfare.
In a second letter to EPA Monday, James and the coalition emphasize the importance of preserving strong federal motor vehicle emissions standards. For decades, EPA has recognized that pollution from cars and trucks contributes to asthma, heart disease, impaired lung development, low birthweight, and premature death. Current standards are projected to prevent more than eight billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions over the next 30 years and avoid $1.82 trillion in climate harms. In today’s letter, Attorney General James and the coalition argue that rolling back these protections would violate the Clean Air Act and harm public health, hinder American innovation, and place U.S. automakers at a competitive disadvantage in global markets that increasingly prioritize zero- and low-emission vehicles.
Joining Attorney General James in several of these actions are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.