Fourteen attorneys general promised to keep working on climate change initiatives in their jurisdictions after filing a brief with a federal court supporting the Obama administration’s top environmental regulation.
Led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, attorneys general from 11 other states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia committed to working on climate change initiatives in their own states. Among the proposed ideas are investigating whether fossil fuel companies in their states misled investors about the impact of climate change on their businesses.
“With gridlock and dysfunction gripping Washington, it is up to the states to lead on the generation-defining issue of climate change,” Schneiderman said. “We stand ready to defend the next president’s climate change agenda, and vow to fight any efforts to roll back the meaningful progress we’ve made over the past eight years.”
The attorneys general are part of 25 state, city and county leaders who filed an amicus brief supporting President Obama’s Clean Power Plan in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday. The Clean Power Plan is a set of emissions targets for states to reach on power plants.
The Supreme Court last month stayed the regulation, billed as the most ambitious environmental initiative by Obama’s administration, while legal challenges are being heard. Thirty states have sued the administration to block the regulation.
Many scientists blame the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, for causing climate change and the subsequent warming of the globe.
The announcement of collaboration among the states was made in a press conference held in New York City during a one-day conference promoting ways for the states to work together to support Obama’s climate change agenda.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who was in attendance, urged the states to work together to fill in the gaps in federal regulations.
“Attorneys general and law enforcement officials around the country have long held a vital role in ensuring that the progress we have made to solve the climate crisis is not only protected, but advanced,” Gore said. “The first-of-its-kind coalition announced today is another key step on the path to a sustainable, clean-energy future.”
Schneiderman is also leading the charge among state attorneys general against Exxon Mobil.
He is investigating what the energy giant knew about climate change and when, an investigation sparked by media reports that the company knew in the 1970s that burning fossil fuels caused climate change but lied to investors and the public about it.
So far, none of the other attorneys general have jumped on board with similar investigations, but U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Earl Walker signaled he may be interested in doing so.
“The Virgin Islands, which is especially vulnerable to environmental threats, has a particular interest in making sure that companies are honest about what they know about climate change,” he said.
“We are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent market where consumers can make informed choices about what they buy and from whom. If Exxon Mobil has tried to cloud their judgment, we are determined to hold the company accountable.”
