Dane County Executive Parisi’s Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Curbing EPA’s Ability to Combat Climate Change

June 30, 2022
Ariana Vruwink, 608-267-8823
County Executive

Dane County Executive Joe Parisi issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to combat climate change:

“Once again, the Supreme Court has issued a ruling that goes against what most Americans want. Last week they dragged Wisconsin women’s health care back to the 1800s, and this week they are trying to drag our country’s environmental policy back to the 1950s—when pollution filled the air and smog hung heavy over most major cities.

“This ruling empowers corporate polluters to harm the environment without fear of consequences. The Supreme Court took away the EPA’s ability to put even a modest carbon reduction plan into action for the entire country. The United States cannot achieve the type of carbon reductions needed to address climate change unless we are all working together.

“The Clean Air Act has had very strong support for decades, and the public wants the EPA to take action to keep our air safe and address climate change. Today, conservatives used the Supreme Court to undermine the public once again. They know they cannot pass legislation to limit ongoing climate efforts because the public would be outraged and members of Congress would lose elections, so they used the court to do their dirty work for them.

“Dane County remains fully committed to doing everything we can to address climate change. Our Climate Action Plan has already achieved big results and put us on track to be the first county in Wisconsin to use 100% renewable power. It is beyond disappointing to see the Supreme Court take actions that could negate our actions by empowering polluters in other parts of the country.”