California, environmental group plan to sue Trump administration over emissions repeal

By Andrea Nakano

It wasn’t a surprise to many that the Trump administration announced a rollback of regulations to curb greenhouse emissions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom fired back immediately, vowing to take this matter to court.

So has Earth Justice, one of the leading environmental law nonprofits in the country.

“We plan to sue them in court as soon as the rule is filed in the public register,” Senior Attorney Marvin Brown with Earth Justice told CBS News San Francisco.

Brown is concerned about how the repeal will increase the pollution from cars and trucks, which he says accounts for nearly 30% of all greenhouse emissions in the United States.

“It’s incredibly dangerous,” he said. “We’re talking about people’s lives here. Not just the lives of people here today but thinking about future generations that are going tobe  affected by the actions we take today.”

President Trump has dismissed those health concerns, referring to climate change as a hoax.

“I tell them don’t worry about it because it has nothing to do with public health,” Mr. Trump said. “This was all a scam.”

Environmental law professor Holly Doremus from UC Berkeley says as legal challenges mount, she feels that in the courtroom, it’s not the science of climate change that will come into question, but the role of the EPA.

“They’re claiming that even if the science of global warming is correct, the EPA does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases,” Professor Holly Doremus with UC Berkeley Environmental Law said. “I think that’s where the core of the legal argument is going to be.”

The administration is also ending a credit for automakers to add start-stop features that shut off gas engines when cars idle, a move companies like Ford and Stellantis praised. The EPA says it will save drivers an average of $2,400 when they buy a new car, though one analysis by S-A-E International found the feature can improve fuel economy and save drivers money.

“They are only concerned about the apparently about the economic impacts of regulations, like limitations on greenhouse gas emissions,” Professor Doremus said.

“That is very dangerous because what it means is, the implication is anything that’s economically valuable can go ahead no matter how much it hurts people.”

California may be sheltered from some of the federal government’s actions since state law requires 100% of the electricity to come from renewable or carbon-free sources. Brown says while federal regulations may be up in the air, people can take steps to protect the environment.

“This is a big blow,” Brown said. “This is an agency abandoning its mission to protect public health. That doesn’t mean we still can’t fight back that there are things that we all can be doing to reduce this type of pollution.”