PORTLAND, Maine — A pending lawsuit filed earlier this year argues that Maine state leaders aren't abiding by state law to combat climate change.
Jointly filed by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), Sierra Club and Maine Youth Action argue the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Board of Environmental Protection hasn't done enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Maine, and subsequently meet state emission goals.
Those involved in the suit cite that a 2019 law sets a clear path state leaders should be taking to meet a goal of reducing 45 percent of emissions by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050.
CLF Senior Attorney Emily Green argues that the state has failed to adopt a single rule to prioritize reducing emissions from transportation—one of the state's biggest contributors to emissions—as state law requires.
"The law is very clear about what the government of Maine needs to do, to reduce climate-warming emissions," Green said. "I have a daughter in preschool, and the Maine that she is going to pass on to her children one day is going to be very different from the Maine we know and love today, and that is why we are bringing on this lawsuit."
While Maine DEP argues in its most recent biennial report that the state is on track to meet emissions goals by 2030, others argue the state's inaction to propose additional rules won't be able to keep that momentum going.
"[Legal action] is the last option, we had to try," Sierra Club State Conservation and Energy Director Matt Cannon said. "[It's] pretty easy policy solutions. ... These solutions we're talking about; Advanced Clean Cars, Advanced Clean Trucks."
Members of the Board of Environmental Protection reviewed proposals to adopt both the Advanced Clean Cars II rule and Advanced Clean Trucks but voted them down.
Both parties involved are now waiting for a pending dismissal of the case, filed by the state.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to Maine DEP and the Board of Environmental Protection for a comment on the case, however, a spokesperson for the Maine attorney general's office representing them declined to comment due to the pending litigation.
