{"id":12930,"date":"2016-03-28T17:40:35","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T22:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=12930"},"modified":"2016-03-28T17:40:35","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T22:40:35","slug":"a-big-week-in-court-for-the-clean-power-plan-defenders-of-the-historic-measure-file-briefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2016\/03\/28\/a-big-week-in-court-for-the-clean-power-plan-defenders-of-the-historic-measure-file-briefs\/","title":{"rendered":"A Big Week in Court for the Clean Power Plan: Defenders of the Historic Measure File Briefs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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source: Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a big week for those of us fighting to protect the Clean Power Plan<\/a> in court.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is preparing to hear arguments on the merits of the historic measure to reduce climate pollution and protect public health. Opponents are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) plan, and they won an emergency stay<\/a> from the Supreme Court \u2013 but no court has yet heard the case on its merits.<\/strong> The merits are being briefed now before the D.C. Circuit Court, which will hold oral argument on June 2nd<\/sup><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the Clean Power Plan file briefs with the D.C. Circuit Court this week.<\/p>\n

EPA filed its response<\/a> to challengers today<\/strong>, writing:<\/p>\n

The [Clean Power Plan] will secure critically important reductions in carbon dioxide (\u201cCO2\u201d) emissions from what are by far the largest emitters in the United States\u2014fossil-fuel-fired power plants. CO2 and other heat-trapping greenhouse-gas emissions pose a monumental threat to Americans\u2019 health and welfare by driving long-lasting changes in our climate, leading to an array of severe negative effects, which will worsen over time. These effects include rising sea levels that could flood coastal population centers; increasingly frequent and intense weather events such as storms, heat waves, and droughts; impaired air and water quality; shrinking water supplies; the spread of infectious disease; species extinction; and national security threats \u2026<\/p>\n

The Clean Air Act \u2026 provides the Environmental Protection Agency (\u201cEPA\u201d) well-established authority to abate threats to public health and welfare by limiting the amount of air pollution that power plants pump into the atmosphere. For decades, a host of CAA regulatory programs have limited various pollutants emitted by these plants \u2026<\/p>\n

This critically important Rule marks a significant step forward in addressing the Nation\u2019s most urgent environmental threat. Fossil-fuel-fired power plants are, far and away, the largest stationary sources of CO2 pollution, and no meaningful effort to abate climate change can fail to address them. EPA\u2019s authority and responsibility under Section 111(d) to control this pollution is well-established and was central to the Supreme Court\u2019s holding in AEP that \u2018the [CAA] and the EPA actions it authorizes displace any federal common-law right to seek abatement of [CO2] emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants.\u2019 564 U.S. at 424. EPA has properly performed its Congressionally assigned task to limit this pollution \u2026<\/p>\n

The [Clean Power Plan] reflects the eminently reasonable exercise of EPA\u2019s recognized statutory authority. It will achieve cost-effective CO2 reductions from an industry that has already demonstrated its ability to comply with robust pollution-control standards through the same measures and flexible approaches. The Rule fulfills both the letter and spirit of Congress\u2019s direction in the Act, and the petitions should be denied. (Pages 1, 3 and 25; Read the full brief here<\/a><\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Environmental Defense Fund is a party to the case and will file a brief in support of the Clean Power Plan tomorrow<\/strong>, along with a broad and diverse coalition that includes numerous states, cities, power companies, clean energy companies, public health and medical associations, and environmental organizations.<\/p>\n

A wide range of supporters will file amicus, or \u201cfriend of the court,\u201d briefs on Friday<\/strong>, April 1st<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The Clean Power Plan <\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effort is the single biggest step America has ever taken to address the threat of climate change. It established the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants.<\/p>\n

Fossil fuel-fired power plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for almost 40 percent of the country\u2019s carbon pollution. There is enormous potential for the power sector to reduce pollution by shifting to clean sources of energy \u2013 with immense attendant benefits for the health of our families and communities, for creating jobs and strengthening the American economy, and for safeguarding our planet for our children.<\/p>\n

EPA estimates that by 2030, the Clean Power Plan will:<\/p>\n