Jepsen, DEEP Praise Federal Court’s Greenhouse Gas Ruling

Connecticut’s Attorney General and the head of its Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are praising a federal appeals court decision upholding government standards to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled Tuesday that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could enforce federal laws aimed at reducing six gases that increase global warming. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases are a pollutant that can be regulated.

Jepsen

Connecticut, along with 17 other states and several organizations assisted the EPA in fending off a lawsuit filed by energy companies and other states, such as Texas and Virginia, that aimed to strike down the regulations.

After the ruling by the Court’s three-judge panel Tuesday, state Attorney General George Jepsen and DEEP Commissioner Daniel Esty both praised the ruling.

“This decision is important in our state’s continuing effort to protect public health and safety by reducing pollutants in our air,” said Jepsen, a Democrat. “It will also enable the EPA to take the steps it deems necessary to address climate change.”

“The federal regulations upheld by the court today represent a step forward by EPA to address what is, perhaps, the most significant economic, energy and environmental issue of the 21st century,” Esty said in the statement.

In its ruling, the Court upheld the EPA’s findings that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. It also upheld the rules the agency set to reduce emissions of those gases from motor vehicles and large stationary sources such as manufacturing facilities and power plants.