Second Circuit Remands Connecticut v. AEP

In climate change news, the Second Circuit has (finally!) issued its decision in the case of Connecticut v. AEP, where a bunch of states sued electric power producers, saying that their carbon emissions constitute a common-law “public nuisance.”  The appellate court overturned the trial court’s (completely unsupportable and poorly reasoned) decision that such a lawsuit was a nonjusticiable “political question.”

This potentially could add some force to the climate change negotiations in the Senate.  The Ninth Circuit is considering a similar case with regard to the automakers.

It’s a long opinion — more than 150 pages, so it will take Dan at least three minutes to read.  I will try to have some comments on it tonight.

And no: Sonia Sotomayor, who originally was the presiding judge in the case, did not sign the opinion.  It was signed by the other two judges.