Senate DFL Leader Melisa López Franzen (DFL-Edina) said today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to cripple the nation’s ability to fight climate change is another extreme ruling that will increase greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately impact the health and economic well-being of people in Minnesota and across the country.
On Thursday, the Court took away the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to adopt certain rules to reduce carbon emissions from U.S. power plants. That authority is a key tool in the nation’s fight to limit the negative impacts of climate change as the country transitions to a clean energy future, Sen. López Franzen said.
“Climate change is an existential threat to our nation’s health and economic future and this extreme ruling by the Supreme Court is a major setback to our ability to fight it,” said Sen. López Franzen. “When the court takes away tools from the EPA to address power plant pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, it cripples our nation’s ability to limit the quickly-expanding costs of climate change and it puts all of our futures at greater risk.”
Sen. López Franzen said the Court’s ruling puts another roadblock in front of efforts to fight climate change. She said that during debate on the the State Senate floor this year, the Republican majority questioned the seriousness of the problem and blocked DFL efforts to cut carbon emissions and to move Minnesota toward expanded use of clean energy.