Democratic Environmental Organizations Statement on SCOTUS Decision on West Virginia v. EPA

Chair of the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis Michelle Deatrick, Alaska Democratic Party Climate Caucus Chair Kay Brown, California Democratic Party Environmental Caucus Chair Igor Tregub and Vice Chair Andrew Lewis, Colorado Democratic Party Energy and Environment Initiative Co-Chairs Marie Venner and Thomas Lundy, Democrats Abroad Environment and Climate Crisis Council Chair Dana Freling, Democrats Abroad Global Progressive Caucus Chair Bruce Murray, Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida President Russell Conn, Democratic Party of Hawai’i Environmental Caucus Co-Chairs Alan Burdick and Melodie Aduja, Michigan Democratic Party Environmental Caucus Chair Wesley Watson, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Environmental Caucus Chair Megan Bond, Democratic Party of Oregon Environmental Caucus Chair Catherine Thomasson, Environmental Caucus of the South Carolina Democratic Party President Stewart Weinberg, Washington State Democrats Environment and Climate Caucus Chair Steve Verhey, and Young Democrats of America Environmental Caucus Chair Devin Murphy and Vice Chair Paul Presendieu issued the following joint statement regarding the Supreme Court decision on West Virginia v EPA: 

“Today, polluters won and the rest of us lost. This ruling places an enormous hurdle in front of our nation as we tackle the climate crisis. It will make it harder for our country to hold polluters accountable for the damage they do to our air, water, soil and future. At this critical time in the climate crisis, as we near numerous tipping points, this decision will set back our efforts by decades — decades that we absolutely don’t have. Today, profit won while people and the planet on which we depend lost. The climate crisis is not coming. It is here now. And this ruling will make it significantly worse.

“Congress must now act to right this wrong. Time is running out, but we can still stave off the worst harms of the climate emergency. Urgent action is clearly needed, as science and our lived experiences  — of wildfires, heat waves, flooded cities, extreme storms and sea rise  — show us every single day. Legislation to end our addiction to fossil fuels and transition to safe renewable energy must be passed, and swiftly.”