WASHINGTON, DC (February 8, 2022) – Recently, leading public health organizations, in conjunction with leaders from medical groups and public health schools, submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court arguing that regulating and reducing climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions are necessary to protect public health. The Supreme Court Case, West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, is scheduled for debate on February 28, 2022, and calls into question the congressional authority delegated to the Environmental Protection Agency to broadly regulate these emissions.
Carbon dioxide is a pollutant known to drive climate change and impact human health; and as it stands, the EPA is mandated to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. The amicus brief was filed in support of EPA’s retention of the regulatory function outlined under the Clean Air Act and concludes that the 1971 court of appeals judgement should be affirmed.
“The outcome of this case could have serious consequences for the government’s ability to set emissions standards for major greenhouse gas sources across the U.S.,” Susan Anenberg, Director of the newly chartered Climate and Health Institute at The George Washington University, said. “We are already seeing the public health damages from climate change, and these health impacts will grow in the future unless emissions are reduced dramatically,” said Anenberg, who is also an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Global Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University.
Outlined in the document are the pathways by which climate change alters our environment and ultimately impacts health. Increases in temperature, prolonged wildfire and allergy seasons, extreme rainfall and flooding, and changes to vector-borne disease patterns lead to an increase in hospitalization, illness, and death. The brief also states that the burden that climate change places on our health is not shouldered equitably. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and communities of color and low-income are most at risk.
The brief argues that it is not just in the best interest of public health, but a public health necessity that industrial greenhouse gas emissions continue to be regulated and reduced. In its closing, the document quotes the Clean Air Act saying that the purpose of the law is “to protect and enhance the quality of the Nation's air resources so as to promote the public health and welfare.”
“Climate change is a public health threat that is affecting all of us now,” Lynn R. Goldman, the Michael and Lori Milken Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at GW, said. “We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help protect the public health, the planet and future generations. And we must take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of people already affected by climate change.”
In addition to the contributions made by Goldman and Anenberg, Katelyn O’Dell, a postdoctoral research scientist, was cited in the brief for her research showing that wildfire smoke affects health across the entire United States.
The Climate and Health Institute is a university-wide collaboration at GW prioritizing cross-disciplinary research, training, and action to address global health and equity challenges associated with climate change.
Access the full amicus brief of American Thoracic Society, American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, and Leaders of Public Health Schools, et al. in support of respondents.
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