AG Fitch Joins 10-State Lawsuit Against Biden Social Cost of Carbon Executive Order

Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined nine state attorneys general in suing to prevent the Biden-Harris Administration from carrying out an act of executive overreach that threatens thousands of jobs and taxes productivity, while bypassing all the checks and balances of the federal regulatory process.

“With the stroke of a pen, the Biden-Harris Administration is creating a back door to justify virtually any future decision,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “This one order could severely impact daily activities for farms, businesses, and citizens. And, despite what you hear from the White House – this is not economics, it is political theater. My colleagues and I are taking them to court to fight this federal government overreach.”

In a recent Executive Order, Joe Biden established a “working group” of federal appointees who were required to establish a damages value based upon global environmental damages from climate change. These values are referred to as the “social cost of carbon,” the “social cost of methane,” and the “social cost of nitrous oxide.” The President further required federal agencies to immediately begin applying these numbers in regulatory actions and, vaguely, “other” decision-making. Federal agencies could use these estimates to arbitrarily assign massive costs or massive benefits to regulatory actions and environmental impact studies, to establish mitigation costs, and more.

The Biden-Harris executive order has wide-ranging impacts on decisions made by virtually every federal agency, including the Departments of Interior, Commerce, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, as well as agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. And, this is all without statutory authority to act or any public notice and comment protections that allow those who will be impacted to have a voice in the rule-making process.

This action touches every part of American life, from generators, dishwashers, and lawnmowers to firewood, livestock, and produce. It is literally about every breath we exhale.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and the attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming in filing this lawsuit this afternoon in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Press Release

4/22/2021