By MATTHEW DALY<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Two dozen states, along with more than a dozen cities and counties, sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, challenging the Trump administration\u2019s repeal of a scientific finding that had been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n A rule finalized by the EPA<\/a> last month revoked the 2009 endangerment finding<\/a> that determined carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health<\/a> and welfare. The Obama-era finding had been the legal underpinning of nearly all climate regulations<\/a> under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.<\/p>\n The repeal eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could unleash a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities.<\/p>\n The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is the second major challenge to the endangerment repeal, following a suit filed last month<\/a> by public health and environmental groups.<\/p>\n The new lawsuit asserts that EPA\u2019s rescission of the endangerment finding abandons a core responsibility to the American people.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of helping Americans face our new reality, the Trump administration has chosen denial, repealing critical protections that are foundational to the federal government\u2019s response to climate change,\u201d said New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the suit along with attorneys general of Massachusetts, California and Connecticut.<\/p>\n In all, 24 states, 10 cities and five counties joined the lawsuit. All are led by Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is real, and it\u2019s already affecting our residents and our economy,\u201d said Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell. \u201cWhen the federal government abandons the law and the science, everyday people suffer the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n Massachusetts \u201chas long led the way in protecting our communities from the dangers of greenhouse gas emissions and we are proud to stand up once again to lead this fight for our future,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The U.S. Supreme Court, in a landmark 2007 case, ruled that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are \u201cair pollutants\u201d under the Clean Air Act. Since the high court\u2019s decision, in a case known as Massachusetts v. EPA<\/a>, courts have uniformly rejected legal challenges to the endangerment finding, including a 2023 decision by the D.C. appeals court.<\/p>\n EPA spokeswoman Brigit Hirsch said the latest lawsuit was \u201cnot about the law or the merits of any argument.\u201d Instead, the plaintiffs \u201care clearly motivated by politics,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n