The EPA’s Clean Power Plan, one of President Obama’s signature domestic policy initiatives, was blocked Tuesday by the US Supreme Court while cases filed against the plan, primarily by Republican-led states dependent on energy production and exports such as Texas and West Virginia, are litigated in a federal appellate court. Latino Leaders were quick to denounce the Court’s actions.
“Polluters would like to derail our progress towards a clean energy future and less climate threats for our children and our health” read a statement from Adrianna Quintero, Director of Voces Verdes, a network of Latino leaders and organizations that advocate for sound environmental policy to combat climate change and support clean, renewable energy.
Court watchers acknowledge that this rule halt signals that a majority of the Justices are skeptical about the legality of key pieces of the EPA’s plan.
Highlighting what is at stake for the Latino community, US Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, in a blog post for the Huffington Post’s Latino Voices wrote in October of last year that “Latinos and African-Americans are more likely to live near health hazards like power plants and highways than their white counterparts. That’s why it’s no surprise that both communities consider cleaning up our air and cutting carbon pollution a top priority.”
Voicing confidence in the Clean Power Plan’s eventual success, Quintero noted that “as a coalition of Latino leaders, we know the overwhelming public support that exists for climate action and policies like the Clean Power Plan and our transition to clean energy sources. The Clean Power Plan will prevail and put us on track towards a healthier, safer climate future.”
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