Virginia joins multistate lawsuit over EPA move on vehicle emissions rule

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia has joined a coalition of states across the country to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) attempt to roll back a major climate determination affecting vehicle emissions.

Attorney General Jay Jones' office announced on Wednesday, March 24, that the state has joined a multistate lawsuit alongside about two dozen states opposing the EPA’s repeal of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, which determines that greenhouse gas pollution from motor vehicles drives climate change and harms public health.

While the Trump administration continues to try to convince us that up is down and down is up, we cannot allow them to dismiss decades of evidence gathered by the scientific community and ignore the very real harm to our health and welfare created by greenhouse gases Regulating human-made greenhouse gas emissions is one way we can ensure that our water quality, the cleanup progress made in protecting the Chesapeake Bay, and our futures are protected. We cannot allow Donald Trump to continue to ignore scientific fact at the expense of our lives and our futures. My office will continue to use every legal tool available to protect the health and safety of our communities. Attorney General Jay Jones (D)

A landmark 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act. In response to this decision, Massachusetts v. EPA confirmed that the Clean Air Act regulates greenhouse gas emissions.

Courts have uniformly rejected legal challenges to the endangerment finding, including a 2023 decision by the D.C. appeals court.

President Donald Trump's administration rescinded the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding on Feb. 12.

The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York are leading the suit. Other attorneys general from other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.