Wyoming and ten other states are suing to prevent the Biden Administration from including the lesser-known social costs of fossil fuel emissions in regulatory actions.
The states’ attorneys general filed the lawsuit in Louisiana Thursday out of concern that the Biden Administration is establishing a set of climate change criteria that stymies industry development and economic growth in their states.
One of Pres. Joe Biden’s first acts in office was to sign a comprehensive executive order that, among other things, directs federal agencies to consider the social costs of carbon, nitrous oxide and methane in decision making.
The order defines these costs as including changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damage from increased flood risk and the value of ecosystem services.
The recent lawsuit protests the value and purpose of including social cost calculations in regulatory action.
Among the states to join the lawsuit is South Dakota.
