If Trump kills Clean Power Plan, legal action ensues, warn 15 states

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is leading the 15 state coalition that threatens legal action should Trump axe the Plan. Source: Flickr/Azi Paybarah

If Trump goes ahead with his threat to scrap the Clean Power Plan, legal action will ensue, according to 15 state attorney generals who penned a letter to the President-elect.

Signed by legal advisers for California, New York, Hawaii, Washington and others, the letter sent on Thursday warns that the coalition of 15 climate conscious states will go to court if Trump makes good on his promise and cancels the Plan.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The Clean Power Plan, which was unveiled under Barack Obama in August 2015, envisioned a 32% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, from 2005 levels. Its path has been rocky, with the Supreme Court freezing the initiative since February 2016 due to the contentious backlash from fossil fuel companies in several states. An appeal hearing was held in Washington in September, with the verdict likely to be reached early this year.

After Trump vowed to cut all federal spending on climate initiatives, a 24-state coalition soon responded to this with a letter urging the president-elect to withdraw the Plan immediately with a “day one” executive order, prohibiting the EPA from enforcing it.

But now New York Attorney General Eric Scheiderman, together with 14 other states, has promised litigation should Trump take such action.

“Our states and local governments are on the front lines of climate change. We see firsthand the significant human and economic costs inflicted by unchecked carbon pollution,” the letter opens, before citing a range of climate impacts from drought to high tide flooding.

The letter argues that preventing the EPA from enforcing the CPP and other similar measures are “contrary to law” and ends with a warning to Trump should he axe what was dubbed a “blueprint for the critical action needed to fight climate change’s devastating” effects.

“In summary, we advocate that you reject misguided advice that the Clean Power Plan be discarded; advice that, if followed, would assuredly lead to more litigation. Instead, we urge you to support the defence of this critically-important rule and the implementation of its carefully-constructed strategies to reduce emissions from the nation’s largest sources.”

Although Trump had pledged to keep an “open mind” on climate change, Trump has reduced the global phenomenon as a “hoax” and appointed several climate sceptics to his cabinet.

Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson was recently appointed Secretary of State, with Scott Pruitt heading the EPA and Rick Perry as Energy Secretary. 

However, outgoing EPA administrator Gina McCarthy declared that the nation's progress in climate change and clean energy would be just fine without the Clean Power Plan, noting that 24 states already had lower emissions in 2015 than required by 2022 under the plan.

21 May 2024
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 21-22 May 2024, will be our third PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2025 and beyond.
8 October 2024
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 8-9 October 2024 is our second PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The event in 2023 was a sell out success and 2024 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
March 19, 2024
Texas, USA
Solar Media Events
March 26, 2024
Lisbon, Portugal
Solar Media Events
April 10, 2024
Dallas, Texas USA