In American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court held in an 8-0 decision that the Clean Air Act displaced any federal common-law right to seek abatement of carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-fired power plants.
Many media accounts have suggested the decision in this suit means the threat of federal climate-change tort litigation has been removed. The truth is more subtle, however, and the decision is as noteworthy for what the justices did not decide as for what they did.
The proceeding began with two complaints filed by eight states (two later dropped out), New York City and three land trusts against five private electric-power companies and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The defendants were said to account for 10 percent of all anthropogenic carbon-dioxide emissions in the United States.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
