U.S. Supreme Court is Hearing “West Virginia v. EPA” on GHG this Month

From me & you — concerned about our earth

Message from Liz Perera, Director of Climate Policy, Sierra Club USA, February 13, 2022

In just two weeks on Feb 28, the Supreme Court will hear argument in the case West Virginia v. EPA. What’s at stake? The EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gasses from power plants. That’s huge. If the court doesn’t rule our way, we could lose one of the best tools to quickly ramp down climate pollution. Sierra Club’s legal team played a key role in briefing this case, defending EPA’s authority to adopt strong climate pollution safeguards.

Polluter-backed special interest groups and other far-right extremists are asserting a legal theory invented by the Trump Administration that would gut EPA’s ability to rein in climate-disrupting carbon dioxide pollution from power plants under the Clean Air Act. Last month Sierra Club and our allies filed a brief with the Supreme Court debunking their arguments and showing how the arguments are not only without merit, but extremely dangerous. If these polluters and extremist politicians prevail, it will set us back nearly a century in the ability of government agencies to reign in corporate polluters. You can read even more about this brief and our arguments on this blog.

Our lawyers are prepared and working for the future of our climate. Send them a Valentine saying you are, too!

Lawyers are usually not the people you expect to be sending love to, but even though their work isn’t always glamorous, it’s incredibly important in making sure we have clean air, clean water, and can act on climate. Two years into a pandemic and at a time when we’re all feeling frustrated (and maybe not in the mood to celebrate love), what a great opportunity to send something nice to our lawyers.

You can print something out and mail it in to our DC offices, and we’ll make sure they get your handwritten cards and notes. Don’t have time or a stamp to drop something in the mail? We’ve got you covered: send an electronic note and we’ll print them out and deliver those too.

It’s not hyperbole to say that West Virginia v. EPA is the most important climate case in years. Everything we can do to help is worthwhile, so let’s send our legal team some love. Send in your valentine now!

>>> Thanks to you, Liz Perera, Sierra Club,
Senior Director of Climate Policy and Federal Partnerships

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See Also: Sierra Club and Partners File Brief in High Stakes West Va v. EPA Case, Andres Restrepo and Joanne Spalding, Sierra Club USA, January 19, 2022

The Sierra Club, together with a coalition of environmental organizations, public health advocacy groups, and others, filed a brief on Jan. 18th with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case West Virginia v. EPA. The brief forcefully opposes an attack on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Air Act authority launched by politicians and coal industry executives. With the support of polluter-backed special interest groups and other, the petitioners in this case are asserting a legal theory invented by the Trump Administration that would gut EPA’s ability to rein in climate-disrupting carbon dioxide pollution from existing fossil fuel-burning power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. One year ago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected those arguments and ruled in favor of Sierra Club and its allies; the case is now before the Supreme Court.