(October 21, 2022) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today rejected a lawsuit by a group of Republican state Attorneys General that sought to prevent the Biden Administration from considering the societal cost of climate pollution – a science-based metric for determining the harm imposed on people across our nation by climate-destabilizing pollution.

“We need to act quickly, using the best available science and most up-to-date data, if we hope to protect ourselves and our communities from the climate crisis. This lawsuit was an attempt to use the courts to keep a weaker, older metric from the last administration in place, which would have exposed people across America to more danger,” said EDF Senior Counsel and Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies Peter Zalzal “Today’s Eighth Circuit decision means the Biden administration can continue using a protective, more accurate metric as it develops policies and safeguards to limit climate pollution and protect the American people from the climate crisis.”

The lawsuit was brought by the states of Missouri, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit rejected the states’ arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court  in May declined to reinstate a lower court injunction limiting policymakers’ reliance on the more rigorous and protective method in another case that is now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund

Media Contact

Sharyn Stein
202-905-5718