Environmental Law: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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In 2004, before the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) had initiated a rulemaking process to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, two groups of plaintiffs (including a number of states, New York City, and several non-profit land trusts) filed suit against five major electric power companies; the plaintiffs requested injunctive relief requiring the defendants to gradually reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the suits as presenting political questions best resolved by a legislative body.The Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the plaintiffs had standing, had stated a claim under the federal common law of nuisance, and that the Clean Air Act did not displace the federal common law.

In American Electric Power Company v. Connecticut