A group of Democratic state attorneys is urging President-elect Donald Trump to steer clear of repealing the Clean Power Plan.
The group, representing 14 states and five localities and spearheaded by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, says in a letter to the Republican president-elect that such a repeal would lead to numerous lawsuits.
"Our states and local governments are on the front lines of climate change. We see firsthand the significant human and economic costs inflicted by unchecked carbon pollution," the letter states, citing a "severe drought" in California, a "catastrophic storm surge" in New York City, and a "record deluge" on the Front Range in Colorado, among other climate-change issues.
"Therefore, we urge you to continue the federal government's defense of the Clean Power Plan, a well-considered and critical rule that reasonably limits emissions from fossil-fueled power plants, our nation's largest source of carbon pollution," the state attorneys urge.
"The Clean Power Plan builds on successful strategies that states, local governments and the power sector have used to cost effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, while at the same time creating jobs and growing our economies."
The group also says that recommendations by Vice President-elect Mike Pence and congressional leaders that the Clean Power Plan be unraveled by an executive order from Trump "would be ill-conceived and contrary to law."
"We advocate that you reject misguided advice that the Clean Power Plan be discarded; advice that, if followed, would assuredly lead to more litigation.
"Instead, we urge you to support the defense of this critically-important rule and the implementation of its carefully constructed strategies to reduce emissions from the nation's largest sources."
Those signing the letter represent New York, California, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as Washington, D.C.; Boulder, Colo.; New York City; and Broward County and South Miami in Florida.
According to the White House, the Clean Power Plan, which President Barack Obama unveiled in August 2015, "sets achievable standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030."
In turn, it will prevent up to 3,600 premature deaths, 1,700 non-fatal heart attacks, 90,000 asthma attacks in children and 300,000 missed workdays and schooldays, the White House says.
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