Sen. Carper Commends Court Decision to Uphold EPA Measures to Reduce Climate Pollution, Protect Public Health and Environment

WASHINGTON – Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, issued the following statement commending the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision to affirm the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Endangerment Finding, Clean Car Standard, and Greenhouse Gas Timing and Tailoring Rules:

“Today’s decision is an important victory in our efforts to improve our nation’s air quality and to protect our economy, public health and environment from the long-term risks associated with carbon, greenhouse gas and other sources of pollution. In Delaware, we’re already seeing the dangerous effects of greenhouse gas emissions drifting through our air and warming our climate, causing sea levels to rise and destroying our coastal ecosystems. In the face of these challenges, national, and even global, action is needed. Unfortunately, efforts in Congress to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint – efforts which I have fiercely supported for many years – have been unsuccessful. Despite Congress’s failure to act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been able to utilize tools under the Clean Air Act to start regulating some of our largest greenhouse gas emitters. As the court affirmed today, these rules and regulations from the EPA are based on scientific fact and address the serious threat of climate pollution to public health and our environment. This means recent EPA rules to save consumers money at the gas pump and reduce our dependency on oil – through industry-approved car and truck efficiency standards – can stay on the books. This also means that recent EPA rules tailored specifically for our largest greenhouse gas emitters – and protecting small businesses and farmers – can stay on the books, too.

“I will continue working with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and my Congressional colleagues to ensure we continue to protect and implement measures that clean up our nation’s sources of greenhouse gas and other harmful pollution, while also providing American jobs for a clean energy economy.”