NEW YORK – New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James is co-leading a coalition of attorneys common, counties, and cities in a collection of actions opposing the U.S. Environmental Safety Company’s (EPA) illegal proposal to rescind its landmark 2009 Endangerment Discovering, which established that greenhouse fuel emissions drive local weather change and pose a risk to public well being and welfare. Legal professional Basic James and the coalition assert that the administration’s proposal would irreversibly injury the nation’s efforts to fight the local weather disaster by abandoning the battle to control dangerous air air pollution.

“Local weather change is actual, it’s harmful, and it’s already hurting communities in New York and throughout the nation,” stated Legal professional Basic James. “With this reckless proposal, the EPA is ignoring science in favor of abandoning its accountability to guard the American folks. Rolling again these essential protections would worsen bronchial asthma, coronary heart illness, and untimely deaths, and put weak communities at even higher threat. My workplace will at all times battle to defend science, shield public well being, and maintain the federal authorities accountable.”

In a comment letter submitted to EPA today, Legal professional Basic James and the coalition argue that rescinding the Endangerment Discovering would violate settled legislation, binding Supreme Court docket precedent, and overwhelming scientific consensus. The coalition warns that reversing course would endanger the well being and security of tens of millions of People, notably weak populations corresponding to kids, seniors, low-income communities, and employees already disproportionately harmed by local weather change and air air pollution. The coalition factors to harms like excessive warmth, worsening storms, wildfires, and flooding as examples of the rising threats that may be impacted by abandoning these protections – protections that the EPA is legally obligated to uphold beneath the Clear Air Act, which requires EPA to control air air pollution, together with greenhouse fuel emissions, that endanger public well being and welfare.

In a second letter to EPA today, Legal professional Basic James and the coalition emphasize the significance of preserving robust federal motorcar emissions requirements. For many years, EPA has acknowledged that air pollution from automobiles and vehicles contributes to bronchial asthma, coronary heart illness, impaired lung growth, low birthweight, and untimely dying. Present requirements are projected to forestall greater than eight billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions over the following 30 years and keep away from $1.82 trillion in local weather harms. In right now’s letter, Legal professional Basic James and the coalition argue that rolling again these protections would violate the Clear Air Act and hurt public well being, hinder American innovation, and place U.S. automakers at a aggressive drawback in international markets that more and more prioritize zero- and low-emission autos.

Earlier this month, Legal professional Basic James led a coalition in a separate comment letter opposing a flawed and illegal report from the Division of Power’s (DOE) Local weather Working Group, which varieties the supposed scientific foundation for EPA’s proposed rescission. The report was drafted in lower than two months by well-known local weather skeptics with no peer overview, and the coalition argues that the ultimate report ignores federal requirements of scientific integrity and fails to adjust to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Additionally they allege the report is riddled with inaccuracies and mischaracterizations of many years of peer-reviewed local weather science. Within the letter, Legal professional Basic James and the coalition urged DOE to withdraw the report solely. Final month, Legal professional Basic James and the coalition additionally filed an amicus brief difficult the report, arguing that the federal authorities can not depend on such illegal and unreliable findings to justify local weather coverage.

Legal professional Basic James emphasizes that failing to behave on local weather change can have – and is already having – lethal penalties. Up to now 20 years, the variety of billion-dollar local weather disasters in New York State has greater than doubled in comparison with the earlier 20 years. There have additionally been over 90 % extra fatalities on account of excessive warmth, extreme floods and storms, and hurricanes. New York Metropolis alone now averages over 500 heat-related deaths every year, largely the results of greenhouse fuel emissions and their impact on our local weather.

These coordinated actions, which Legal professional Basic James co-led with the attorneys common of California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, mirror a broad coalition of states, counties, and cities united in protection of the Endangerment Discovering, federal automobile requirements, and the scientific basis of nationwide local weather coverage. Collectively, the coalition is urging EPA to desert its illegal and unsupported proposal and to recommit to its responsibility beneath the Clear Air Act to guard public well being and welfare from the harms of greenhouse fuel emissions.

Becoming a member of Legal professional Basic James in a number of of those actions are the attorneys common 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. Additionally becoming a member of a number of actions are the Chief Authorized Officers of the Metropolis and County of Denver, Metropolis and County of San Francisco, Martin Luther King Jr. County, Washington, and the Cities of Chicago and New York.