Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on March 19 that he has joined a coalition of 38 states, territories, cities, and counties in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its attempt to rescind the agency’s 2009 Endangerment Finding. The Endangerment Finding determined that greenhouse gas pollution from motor vehicles drives climate change and endangers public health and welfare.
The lawsuit challenges what the coalition calls an unlawful rollback by the EPA, arguing that it undermines years of progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting public health. Minnesota officials say the move hinders state-level efforts to address climate change impacts already affecting communities across Minnesota.
“Minnesota leaders are making progress towards curbing the pollution that leads to climate change, and I will not allow the Trump administration to interfere with that important work. While we work responsibly to meet Minnesotans’ needs and expectations, the Trump Administration continues to contradict settled science and settled law in its ongoing work to make Americans less healthy so billionaires can be more wealthy,” Ellison said. “It’s established scientific fact that greenhouse gases from motor vehicles drive climate change and harm the health of people and communities. It’s Supreme Court precedent that EPA can regulate those greenhouse gases. Because the Trump Administration is not free to ignore the law and its duty to protect public health, I’m taking them to court.”
The 2009 Endangerment Finding was based on scientific analysis following a 2007 Supreme Court decision confirming EPA authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles. Since then, federal standards have led to significant reductions in such emissions. The current lawsuit alleges that EPA’s new rulemaking process disregards both legal precedent and scientific evidence by eliminating existing vehicle emission standards.
According to Ellison’s office, Minnesota has experienced rising temperatures, increased flooding, droughts, and threats to native species due to climate change. These changes have resulted in higher costs for disaster recovery and negative effects on tourism and agriculture. Vulnerable populations—including seniors, children, people of color, those with health issues or economic challenges—are said to be disproportionately affected.
Ellison is joined in this legal action by attorneys general from several other states as well as city and county officials nationwide. The coalition previously submitted comment letters urging EPA not to proceed with rescinding the Endangerment Finding.
The outcome of this case could have broad implications for federal environmental policy as well as state-level efforts aimed at mitigating climate change.
