Wisconsin To Join Lawsuit Against Emissions Plan

Attorney General Brad Schimel confirmed Monday that Wisconsin will join a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s new carbon emissions rules.

Gov. Scott Walker had asked Schimel to join the challenge in a statement released earlier the same day, asserting that the rules would hurt utility ratepayers and workers. Schimel said in a statement soon after that he would follow the governor’s directive. He claimed the new rules “will be detrimental to Wisconsin’s economy by dramatically increasing residential and business electricity bills, resulting in significant job losses.”

The federal plan, which President Barack Obama unveiled early Monday afternoon, builds off of a draft proposal that the White House released last year. It features individualized reduction goals for each state, giving Wisconsin a target of a 33 percent fewer carbon emissions by the year 2030, assuming 2012 emission levels as a baseline.

While the new “Clean Power Plan” has been met with sharp rebukes from many Republicans, environmentalist groups in Wisconsin have praised the plan.