Texas Governor Rick Perry announced that his state is taking legal action in the U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) endangerment finding for greenhouse gases.
The state says the EPA’s Endangerment Finding is legally unsupported because the agency "outsourced" its scientific assessment to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). According to a press release issued by the Office of the Governor, the IPCC has been discredited by evidence of key scientists’ lack of objectivity, coordinated efforts to hide flaws in their research, attempts to keep contravening evidence out of IPCC reports and violation of freedom of information laws.
The state has filed a Petition for Review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and will also file a Petition for Reconsideration with the EPA, asking the administrator to review her decision.
Texas is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases among US states.
“Texas is aggressively seeking its future in alternative energy through incentives and innovation, not mandates and overreaching regulation,” Gov. Perry said. “The EPA’s misguided plan paints a big target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers and the hundreds of thousands of Texans they employ. This legal action is being taken to protect the Texas economy and the green jobs that go with it, as well as defend Texas’ freedom to continue our successful environmental strategies free from federal overreach.”
US Chamber of Commerce
Not surprisingly, the US Chamber of Commerce is also mounting a legal challenge to the EPA’s efforts to regulate heat-trapping gases.
The Chamber has been a vocal opponent of climate change legislation and US participation in international climate negotiations. Yet a representative of the group said in a press release that it "supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
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