trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/sln2f7xz4dx2hz8ddcacxq2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Democrats' wins in state attorney general races may bolster energy policy fights

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Democrats' wins in state attorney general races may bolster energy policy fights

SNL Image

Democrats won most U.S. state attorney general races in the November midterm elections, which could give blue states more leverage in fights against the Trump administration's energy and environmental policies.

Thirty states held elections for attorney general Nov. 6. Democrats won 16 of those races, including in four states where the incumbent is a Republican. None of the 14 states where Republicans won have a Democratic attorney general. Following the elections, Democrats will hold 27 state attorney general offices.

An attorney general is a state's chief legal adviser and enforcer of laws. In the past 15 years, they have played a more active role in environmental issues affecting the energy sector, including regulations from the federal government that could have big impacts in their jurisdiction.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, spearheaded the lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that led to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 ruling in Massachusetts vs. EPA (05‑1120), which established that the EPA had the authority to regulate tailpipe greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The court's decision in that case led to the EPA's determination in 2009 that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare, a finding that paved the way for the EPA to regulate carbon from power plants as well.

SNL Image

More recently, Democratic New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood led a coalition of 26 states, counties and cities in opposing the Trump administration's proposed Affordable Clean Energy rule, which is aimed at cutting power-sector carbon dioxide emissions. The rule is intended to replace the Obama administration's more sweeping Clean Power Plan, which the Supreme Court put on hold in early 2016.

If the EPA ultimately adopts the new rule, Underwood vowed that her office and other state and local partners would sue to overturn the regulation. Counting New York, 18 states and the District of Columbia asked the EPA to abandon the Affordable Clean Energy rule in comments filed in early November.

"The Trump EPA's proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan will prop up dirty and expensive coal power plants, undercut clean and sustainable electricity, and leave New Yorkers and other Americans to foot the bill," Underwood said. "As I've made clear, if the administration adopts this grossly illegal rule, my office will work with our state and local partners to file suit to block it."

Democratic attorneys general are also battling the Trump administration's proposal to ease fuel efficiency standards for cars and light-duty trucks, which could also undermine California's ability to set its own, tougher vehicle efficiency and greenhouse gas standards.

State attorneys general have also weighed in on climate change nuisance lawsuits that some cities have filed against Exxon Mobil Corp. and other oil producers. On Oct. 24, Underwood filed a lawsuit that accused Exxon of misleading investors on what actions the company was taking to address its possible financial exposure to climate-related risks.

A widened Democratic stable of state attorneys general could intensify legal challenges to President Donald Trump's energy and environmental agendas. But Republicans, who will control almost the same number of attorney general offices following the election, have also been proactive in attacking federal energy and environmental policies they do not like.

Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who lost his fight for U.S. Senate in the Nov. 6 elections, led a group of over 20 states in suing to strike down the Clean Power Plan after the EPA finalized the rule in 2015. Those states' opposition to the Clean Power Plan paved the way for the Supreme Court to put the rule on hold.

States also mounted opposition to the Obama-era Clean Water Rule defining waters subject to federal regulation, a policy the Trump administration has also said it wants to replace.