"WASHINGTON — A coalition of 29 states and cities on Tuesday sued to block the Trump administration from easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants. The move could ultimately limit how much leverage future administrations would have to fight climate change by restricting a major source of Earth-warming pollution.
The lawsuit, led by New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, argued the Environmental Protection Agency had no basis for weakening an Obama-era regulation that set the first-ever national limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants.
That rule, the Clean Power Plan, required states to implement plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2022, and encouraged that to happen by closing heavily-polluting plants and replacing those energy sources with natural gas or renewable energy. Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is a major contributor to global warming because it traps the sun’s heat."
Lisa Friedman reports for the Washington Post August 13, 2019.
SEE ALSO:
"EPA: Blue States Urge Court To Take Down Trump Carbon Rule" (Greenwire)
"Twenty-Two States Sue Trump Administration Over Carbon Rule Replacement" (Reuters)
"22 States Sue EPA To Block Trump’s Coal-Friendly Power Plant Rule" (HuffPost)
"States Sue To Block EPA's Coal Power Plant Emissions Rollback" (CNN)
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