State Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport), Senate Chair of the Connecticut’s Transportation Committee and a member of the Environment Committee, blasted the latest U.S. Supreme Court decision — a ruling that will set our nation back on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and worsen the climate crisis.
The Supreme Court’s six conservative justices – all nominated by Republican presidents – ruled in the case of West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have broad power to protect the environment by instituting regulations which – in this instance – would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and set individual goals for states to cut power plant emissions by 2030.
“The Supreme Court’s latest ruling will restrain the ability of the EPA to fulfill its mission of protecting the clean air that we all need to survive. Once again, states must lead the way by enacting their own Clean Air Act, as Connecticut did just weeks ago,” said Sen. Haskell. “The next generation of Americans is left wondering — who will stand up for their right to lead happy and healthy lives? Who will ensure that kids breath clean air, not dirty diesel exhaust, on their way to and from school? With the Supreme Court’s ruling, the answer must be state legislators.”
“Although Connecticut cannot solve the climate crisis alone, we are not waiting for Washington to lead the way. Instead, we enacted a Clean Air Act that will electrify school buses, strengthen emissions standards on trucks, make electric vehicles a more affordable, install charging stations across the state, and cut traffic. I hope this new law will be a model for other states to follow.”