For Immediate Release: June 30, 2022
Rapid City, SD – Today, in response to SCOTUS’ ruling in West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency, a decision which will severely curtail the EPA’s legal ability to regulate emissions from power plants, NDN Collective released the following statement:
“With this ruling, the illegitimate SCOTUS continues its anti-human warpath,” said Jade Begay, Climate Justice Director at NDN Collective. “This decision will not only halt the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate goals for reducing carbon emissions by 2030, but will also put millions of lives at risk, as the outcome of the decision will further destabilize the climate.
“By limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate pollution, public health issues will be exacerbated across the country, impacting low income and communities of color first and worst. The data is clear – a strong majority of voters believe that the EPA should be allowed to regulate air pollution. But this SCOTUS does not honor public trust – they only act in self interest. To protect our planet and its people, we call on President Biden to declare a climate emergency, end new onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing, and pass a reconciliation bill that makes strong investments in clean energy and advances environmental justice.”
“Today’s judicial activism curtailing the EPA’s ability to regulate power plants is part of this court’s systematic oppression of people and the planet,” said Michael Johnson, Director of Advancement at NDN Collective. “The ruling attempts to codify dirty energy production and shows in no small way the continued support the extractive industry enjoys with conservative politicians, despite the obvious warning signs that continued extraction based energy production is unsustainable and ultimately damaging to all life.
“We know that Indigenous, Black, and immigrant communities suffer higher levels of pollution exposure – today’s ruling signals to our communities that our health, livelihoods, and future generations are less valuable to SCOTUS than the profits of the extractive industry. The majority of Americans support a transition to renewable energy – we call on our congressional representatives to deliver on the will of the People.”
“Today’s SCOTUS ruling takes away the authority from the federal government to accurately regulate greenhouse gas emissions and our country’s ability to mathematically achieve our climate goals,” said Kailea Frederick, Climate Justice Organizer at NDN Collective. “In a moment where we are all impacted by historic climate-change induced drought, heat, fires, and flooding, this ruling speaks volumes to the fact that SCOTUS can no longer be trusted to follow science or basic common sense. We need a detailed plan to both expand and fix this court in order to ensure that we are accurately addressing climate change.”
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.
