Washington: Twelve Republican-led states are suing US President Joe Biden over his first executive order aimed at climate change, alleging he lacked the constitutional authority to implement new rules about greenhouse gases.
The federal lawsuit, led by Attorney-General Eric Schmitt of Missouri, a Republican, argues Biden violated the separation of powers clause in the constitution because Congress, not the president, has the power to regulate.
On his first day in the White House, Biden signed Executive Order 13990, directing federal agencies to calculate the “social cost” of greenhouse gas pollution by estimating “monetised damages” to inform future federal regulations. This includes changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk and the value of ecosystem services.
A wind turbine is silhouetted against the rising sun near Spearville, Kansas, one of the states suing US President Joe Biden over one of his first executive orders.Credit:AP
But the 12 states that are plaintiffs say assigning such values is a “quintessentially legislative action that falls within Congress’s exclusive authority”. They also say the economic ramifications of the order will be disastrous.
“If the executive order stands, it will inflict hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars of damage to the US economy for decades to come,” the suit reads. “It will destroy jobs, stifle energy production, strangle America’s energy independence, suppress agriculture, deter innovation, and impoverish working families. It undermines the sovereignty of the states and tears at the fabric of liberty.”
Loading
Republican state attorneys-general from Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah joined the suit.
The White House and Department of Justice declined to comment.
The complaint asks the court to issue an order that prohibits federal agencies from using the “social cost” estimates and to declare they are “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and contrary to law”, among other relief.
