UPDATE: US Appeals Court Reinstates Carbon Emissions Lawsuit
2009年9月22日 - 6:06AM
Dow Jones News
A U.S. appeals court on Monday reinstated global warming
lawsuits brought by eight states, New York City and three land
trusts against several large utility companies, seeking to limit
their carbon-dioxide emissions.
In an order Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated
a district judge's 2005 ruling tossing out the cases, saying the
lower court erred in dismissing the complaints against utilities
that operate fossil-fuel-fired electricity plants in 22 states.
The utilities had argued, in part, that allowing a court to
unilaterally order emissions reductions would interfere with the
President's efforts to induce other nations to reduce their
emissions.
"A decision by a single federal court concerning a common law of
nuisance cause of action, brought by domestic plaintiffs against
domestic companies, does not establish a national or international
emissions policy," U.S. Circuit Judge Peter W. Hall wrote. "Nor
could a court set across-the-board domestic emissions standards or
require any unilateral, mandatory emissions reductions over
entities not party to the suit."
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan dismissed the
cases in 2005, saying the question of whether carbon-dioxide
emissions should be reduced laid with Congress, not the courts.
The cases were seeking to limit and ultimately reduce carbon
emissions at six domestic coal-fired electricity plants.
The utilities are American Electric Power Co. (AEP), Southern
Co. (SO), Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL), the federal government-owned
Tennessee Valley Authority and Cinergy Corp., which was acquired by
Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) in 2006.
One of lawsuits reinstated was brought by the states of New
York, Connecticut, California, Iowa, New Jersey, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Wisconsin plus New York City. The other was brought by
land trusts Open Space Institute Inc., Open Space Conservancy Inc.
and the Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
The cases were remanded to Judge Preska for further
proceedings.
-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017;
chad.bray@dowjones.com