The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow filed an amicus curiae brief in support of attorneys general of 12 states in a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general against President Joe Biden and other government officials. The lawsuit contested the Biden Administration’s decision to set a social cost on greenhouse gas emissions.
The states, Missouri, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah, are seeking an injunction to stop the efforts, claiming that they will be harmed and that setting a social cost should be done by the legislative branch, rather than the executive branch. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, alleging that the claims are meritless, that the plaintiffs do not understand the Executive Order which they are contesting, and that the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction. The motion to dismiss noted that setting a social cost was done by the executive branch during the last two administrations.
In the proposed amicus curiae brief, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) argued that the interagency working group assigned to set the social cost was asked to complete a “speculative, inadequate, arbitrary and capricious analysis,” and is “intruding into virtually every aspect of Americans’ lives, health and living standards.
CFACT claimed that it has interest in the case because of the working group’s alleged disregard for due process requirements. It claimed that the group had not allowed opportunities for comment or considered costs and benefits which would have happened if the analysis was complete.
“These failures are particularly important because the Group is developing highly influential scientific and economic assessments that are being used to support, justify and drive major federal actions that will have especially far-reaching and costly impacts on employment, the economy, the health and well-being of every citizen of the United States, and the quality and diversity of the natural human environment,” the amicus brief claimed.
The committee claimed that fossil fuels are central to our way of life and economy, and help increase productivity. It claimed that a rigorous analysis would also examine benefits of fuels and emissions and the costs of replacing fossil fuel systems, but that the working group has ignored these aspects of their analysis. CFACT noted that altering energy sources to wind, solar, and battery would require a significant amount of raw materials and would cause environmental and human health damages.
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow is represented by the Hardin Law Office.
