CONGRESS MUST ACT TO COUNTER SUPREME COURT’S ATTACK ON CLIMATE ACTION

With today’s decision in West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Supreme Court’s partisan far right majority rolled back the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, which contribute 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

By curbing the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act, today’s ruling represents a serious risk to public health and our collective future. And as is too often the case, Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, who are more likely to live in proximity to polluting industries and experience harmful climate impacts first and worst, will be hardest hit.

Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu: “To respond to the climate crisis on the scale that science and justice demand we need to use every tool available: corporate, legislative and executive. Today’s Supreme Court decision limits that ability. Now more than ever, we need Congress to pass a reconciliation bill that provides justice, jobs, and renewable energy for all. We know that for every second we delay, the costs of inaction grow. It’s time our leaders move from backroom discussion, to action, before it’s too late.”

The WV v. EPA ruling comes at the end of a Supreme Court session dominated by a conservative majority, half of whom were appointed by Presidents who did not win a majority of votes, dismantled precedent, constrained constitutional rights, and disregarded religious liberty. Today’s decision will not only limit our ability to tackle the climate crisis, but could set a dangerous precedent of overturning further regulations on issues such as health care and civil rights.

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