The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently heard Virginia and 14 other states’ complaints against U.S. EPA regarding its determination that CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) are pollutants dangerous to human health and welfare.
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Download NowIn 2010, Virginia Attorney General (AG) Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II petitioned EPA to reconsider its August 2009 “Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Finding for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.” EPA declined to do so. The finding allows EPA to regulate emissions of GHG.
The AG’s impetus for the lawsuit is his belief that the endangerment finding that will regulate emissions from factories, office buildings, cars, power plants:
- Will cost households thousands of dollars a year because of increased energy taxes.
- Will increase in price everything that takes energy to manufacture or transport.
- Was based on United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data that may have been manipulated to arrive at predetermined conclusions.
A September 2011 investigation by EPA’s inspector general showed the Agency failed to follow federal rules for testing. The inspector general concluded that because EPA’s actions constituted “highly influential scientific assessment,” EPA had failed to meet relevant procedural standards.