Cohen Blasts SCOTUS' West Virginia v. EPA Decision As 'Catastrophic'

GUILFORD, CT —State Sen. Christine Cohen "blasted the latest Supreme Court decision on an issue affecting all Americans – this time, on the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change," a news release from the legislator reads

Cohen, a Democrat from Guilford, is Senate Chair of the General Assembly's Environment Committee.

The Supreme Court's six conservative justices ruled today in the case of West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have broad power to protect the environment by instituting regulations which – in this instance – would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and set individual goals for states to cut power plant emissions by 2030.

“In yet another blow to American citizens by this activist Supreme Court, the EPA is now restrained in its duty to protect the American people and our environment,” Cohen said.

“We do not live in a vacuum - even here in Connecticut, we live upwind of noxious factory exhausts and transportation emissions that are blown on winds across the South and Midwest into Branford, Putnam, Westport, Litchfield and every other town in our great state," she said.

"Adequately addressing the lifetime threat of climate change and securing clean air and water is going to take a collective, global approach. If we, the leader of the free world, cannot be leaders in this fight - I fear we will be idle, sitting ducks when it comes to air pollution, sea level rise and extreme weather patterns. And yet, this is not just a climate issue with obvious environmental impacts, this is an issue of health and human safety," Cohen said.

But added that the state "will continue to lead the nation and create a blueprint on how to address climate change, and we will be ready to work in tandem with the rest of our country when they decide to join the fight.”