After Recent National Climate Assessment, California Attorney General Becerra and New York Attorney General Underwood Lead a Coalition Calling for the Withdrawal of Rollbacks to Environmental Protections

 Coalition Urges Trump Administration to Maintain Clean Car Standards and Clean Power Plan

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood today delivered a multistate letter calling on the Trump Administration to withdraw proposed rules that would weaken restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions for motor vehicles and power plants. The letter, written to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler in light of new information from a recently-published report, cites dire warnings from the federal government’s recent “Fourth National Climate Assessment” that the harmful effects of climate change will endanger public health, the environment, the economy, and national security. The letter was signed by a coalition of 29 states, counties, and cities. 

“The National Climate Assessment reads plainly: climate change is real and it will hurt everyone – but it isn’t too late if we act now,” said Attorney General Becerra. “We urge EPA Administrator Wheeler to uphold his duty to protect human health and the environment: by reading the federal report and heeding its warnings, and most importantly, by withdrawing these foolish proposals before it is too late.”

The federal government’s assessment makes it clear that immediate actions to reduce emissions are necessary to mitigate rising temperatures, sea level rise, extreme weather and climate-related events, drought, unhealthy air quality, increased disease, and damage to infrastructure, the economy, and communities nationwide. The combined effects of rolling back the regulations – the 2016 National Clean Car Standards and the 2015 Clean Power Plan – would in coming years conservatively result in increased emissions equal to the annual emissions of 147 coal-fired power plants or an additional 127 million gasoline-powered cars on the road.

In light of the Assessment – with peer-reviewed information from more than 300 federal and non-federal experts, including 13 federal agencies – the states call on the Trump Administration to immediately withdraw its proposed rules, or, at minimum, reopen the comment periods to allow for public input and consideration.

Attorney General Becerra leads in the fight to maintain these protections:

Clean Car Standards: In May 2018, Attorney General Becerra, Governor Jerry Brown, and the California Air Resources Board led a coalition of 17 states to sue the EPA over its revised determination of the feasibility of the Standards. On August 2, 2018, after the Trump Administration made its rollback proposal official, Attorney General Becerra voiced strong opinion, along with Governor Jerry Brown and CARB Chair Mary Nichols. Most recently, in October, the group led a coalition of 21 attorneys general, along with five California cities to demand the Trump Administration withdraw the proposed rules.

Clean Power Plan: Attorney General Becerra issued a statement in March 2017 preparing to defend the Clean Power Plan. In February 2018, he defended the Clean Power Plan in an EPA listening session in San Francisco. In August, he issued a strong statement upon the announcement of the Trump Administration’s proposal to dismantle the Clean Power Plan. Attorney General Becerra then joined a comment letter strongly criticizing the Trump Administration’s proposed Dirty Power Plan, a proposed rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. 

A copy of the letter is available here.