Courts Must Respect Climate Regulations, August 2024
- rabinelliott
- Aug 13, 2024
- 3 min read
Take Action
A recent Supreme Court decision puts at risk important federal regulations that protect our climate, people, and planet. It may trigger more lawsuits against federal climate regulations and may undermine the ability of agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to defend their regulations against legal challenges. Ask your Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Stop Corporate Capture Act (H.R. 1507, Senate TBD), which will safeguard the ability of federal agencies to develop and issue regulations.
Background
Last June, the Supreme Court ended a legal precedent known as the Chevron Deference Doctrine. The Doctrine held that when a federal regulation is challenged in court, the court must defer to the agency’s interpretation of the enabling legislation.
The reversal of the Chevron Doctrine may jeopardize federal policies and regulations that protect the climate by encouraging private interests to challenge federal regulations in court.
Why Now?
Congress leapt into action after the Supreme Court ruling was announced. The Sunset Chevron Act (H.R. 8889) would repeal regulations that courts upheld based on the Chevron Doctrine. On the other side of the aisle, 38 Democratic cosponsors added their names to the Stop Corporate Capture Act (H.R. 1507), which would codify the Chevron Doctrine, requiring courts to defer to agencies’ interpretation of legislation as expressed through regulations. The Stop Corporate Capture Act has been introduced in the Senate (bill number not available yet).
Jewish Perspectives
In a response to the overturning of the Chevron Doctrine, Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb and Israel Harris, write that the Supreme Court’s decision betrays a lack of “humility, anavah, which is commonly understood as “taking up the right amount of space,” neither too much nor too little, while leaving appropriate space for others.” Traditionally, “the halachic (Jewish legal) process is filled with ‘deference,' , “where rabbinic jurists who know the legal and moral precedents routinely turn to scientists and engineers and others to fill in the knowledge-gap. As a result, the final process is fuller, truer, and more enduring.”
Learn more:
Supreme Court Overturns Chevron Doctrine: What it Means for Climate Change Policy, Inside Climate News
In the Wake of the Chevron Doctrine, Yale School of the Environment
What Chevron’s End Could Mean for EPA Climate Regulations, E&E News by Politico
Sample Message
Dear Representative or Senator,
The Supreme Court’s overturning of the Chevron doctrine puts at risk decades of climate legislation that protect people and the planet.
I am concerned about climate change because….insert your personal story here
Jewish tradition respects the expertise of scientists and engineers who are consulted in Jewish legal matters. I believe courts should be required to defer to the expertise of agencies who are best positioned to establish regulations.
For Democrats:
I urge you to co-sponsor the Stop Corporate Capture Act (H.R. 1507; Senate Bill TBD)
For Republicans:
I urge you to oppose the Sunset Chevron Act (H.R. 8889) and any similar legislation.
How to Contact Your Members of Congress
Find your Members of Congress at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
Call the Capitol switchboard (202) 224-3121 to reach your Member of Congress’ office.
Online: Go to your Member’s website and look for the “contact” page to submit a message.
