Louisiana v. Biden

Louisiana v. Biden

Opinion

MEMORANDUM RULING

Before the Court is a "Motion for Preliminary Injunction" (Doc. 53) filed by the States of Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming (collectively referred to as the "Plaintiff States"). The Plaintiff States move pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for a preliminary injunction against Defendants Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Cecilia Rouse, Shalanda Young, Kei Koizumi, Janet Yellen, Deb Haaland, Tom Vilsack, Gina Raimondo, Xavier Becerra, Pete Buttigieg, Jennifer Granholm, Brenda Mallory, Michael S. Regan, Gina McCarthy, [*5]  Brian Deese, Jack Danielson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Interior, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Defendants").

Plaintiff States also move to make the Order effective immediately and to remain in effect pending the final resolution of this case, or until further orders of this Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, or the United States Supreme Court.

I. BACKGROUND

On April 22, 2021, the Plaintiff States filed a Complaint [doc. 1] against the Government Defendants seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as a result of Executive Order 13990 ("EO 13990"). EO 13990 reinstated the Interagency Working Group ("IWG") on Social Costs of Greenhouse Gas Emissions ("SC-GGE") and ordered the IWG to publish Interim Estimates for the Social Cost of Carbon, Nitrous Oxide, and Methane (collectively referred to as "SC-GHG Estimates") for agencies to use when monetizing the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from [*6]  regulations and other relevant agency actions. EO 13990 provides as follows:

Accounting for the Benefits of Reducing Climate Pollution

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