States To Sue Bush Administration On Global Warming

A coalition of state attorneys general today announced plans to sue the Bush Administration over its failure to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the nation's power plants.

The states say that the administration's current policy regarding CO2 emissions violates the federal Clean Air Act and contributes significantly to global warming.

This landmark action by the states seeks to compel the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise national regulations governing power plant emissions.

At issue is the EPA's repeated failure to update the nation's air pollution standards for power plants. The Clean Air Act requires that the EPA analyze the impacts of air pollutants from power plants and establish or revise air pollution standards at least every eight years. The states contend that the EPA has not conducted the legally-required analysis for power plant emissions in at least 20 years.

As a result, there is no standard for carbon dioxide emissions, and the standards for particulate matter and sulfur dioxide are woefully outdated. Congress intended that EPA regulations incorporate the latest scientific advances to best protect public health and the environment.

New York Attorney General Spitzer said: "At a time when the rest of the world is taking steps to reduce CO2 emissions, our nation is not even attempting to slow the rate of growth in its emissions. Individual states simply can't address the problem alone. Instead, it is imperative that the Bush Administration establish a responsible and forward-looking national environmental policy."

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said: "This problem will not disappear through wishful thinking or artful spinning. By belittling greenhouse gas emissions as a danger to our health and environment, the Bush Administration betrays its legal duty. Virtually everyone responsible for environmental protection regards greenhouse gas emissions as a serious threat, except this Administration's Environmental Protection Agency. If the federal government continues to ignore major sources of pollution -- refusing to even to test them -- rising carbon dioxide levels will cause more disease, health damage, weather extremes, droughts and flooding. This abdication of responsibility is unconscionable, and legally indefensible. Instead of relying on purely voluntary solutions, the federal government must enforce the law by compelling power plants and other major sources to reduce global warming emissions."

Maine Attorney General G. Steven Rowe said: "This lawsuit will force EPA to comply with the Clean Air Act by developing emission standards that reflect modern technology. This is one of the agency's basic functions, and it will alleviate environmental and public health problems such as acid rain and asthma as well as the threats presented by global warming."

Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said: "The question is no longer whether carbon dioxide emissions will be controlled, but how and when they will be controlled. Today's notice of intent to sue is another attempt to get the federal government to address the very real problem of global warming, which threatens to wreak havoc on our health, environment and economy, and move on it. While the individual states cannot address this problem alone, we can and will continue to keep the pressure on EPA to take action."

New Jersey Acting Attorney General Peter C. Harvey said: "The federal Clean Air Act is a critical protection for our environment and the health of our citizens. But it has been undermined in New Jersey and elsewhere by the failure of the EPA to update pollution emission limits for power plants over the past two decades, as required by the Act. This suit will demand that the EPA met its responsibility to establish appropriate standards that will keep the Act strong and protect our citizens from dangerous pollutants."

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said: "The United States government is currently involved in an historic global debate that will have profound consequences on our vital national interests. What interest, however, can possibly be more vital than protecting the futures of our children and our children's children by preserving our environment? Unfortunately, by kowtowing to the big U.S. power companies, the Bush Administration is, in effect, saying that corporate profitability matters more than protecting future generations from the lethal hazards posed by global warming."

Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire said: "Washington State has shown its commitment by investing heavily in clean sources of power and strong pollution controls to provide the healthiest air possible for our citizens, crops and businesses. We need to see the same kind of commitment on a national level."

The states' lawsuit complements a legal initiative brought by the Sierra Club and Our Children's Earth Foundation. Those organizations are challenging EPA's failure to regulate carbon dioxide and other pollutants from coal-fired power plants and numerous other industrial sources.

"Why has the Bush Administration been missing in action on the greatest environmental threat facing the nation," said David Bookbinder, a senior attorney with Sierra Club. "Yet again, we find EPA fiddling while Rome burns."

The attorneys general noted that the Bush administration's recently announced voluntary plan for carbon emission reduction fails to impose any requirements on any polluter to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The United States, with five percent of the world's population, emits 25 percent of global carbon dioxide pollution, and the emissions from U.S. power plants alone account for 10 percent of total global carbon dioxide pollution.

The attorneys general argue that mandated reductions in power plant pollution offer the best opportunity to reduce global warming emissions in a cost-effective manner. No other sector of any nation's economy produces as much carbon dioxide pollution as do U.S. power plants. This industry is highly concentrated, with fewer than 50 companies emitting virtually all the U.S. power plant carbon dioxide pollution.

More than 100 nations have pledged to undertake significant reductions in CO2 emissions and other pollutants pursuant to the Kyoto accord. The Bush administration withdrew from the accord, making the U.S. the only major developed nation, other than Australia, to do so.

In accordance with federal law, the states today gave EPA Administrator Whitman the required 60-day notice of their intention to file a federal lawsuit in this matter.

The notification letter from the attorneys general to EPA Administrator Whitman is available on the website of New York Attorney General Spitzer: www.ag.ny.gov.

Attachments:

• Letter to EPA Administrator Whitman
• Attachment to letter

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