Attorney General Brad Schimel
Wisconsin’s attorney general is vowing to challenge proposed rules aimed at making power plants cut greenhouse gases.
President Obama’s Clean Power Plan calls for the nation’s power plants to reduce carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030, based on 2005 levels. Attorney General Brad Schimel on Monday joined fellow Republicans in voicing concerns that the policy will increase costs for ratepayers and businesses, resulting in “significant job losses.”
Following a request from Governor Scott Walker, Schimel said he plans to have Wisconsin join several other states in filing a lawsuit that seeks to stop what he called “the federal government’s unlawful actions.”
Walker on Monday also released a statement, accusing the president of “taking unilateral action and overstepping the limits of his authority to pursue a political agenda. The Obama Administration ignored the significant, overriding issues that will increase costs for Wisconsin ratepayers by up to $13 billion, unnecessarily harming families and killing manufacturing jobs.”
Walker, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, also said he is directing the state Department of Natural Resources and state Public Service Commission to work together to evaluate the financial impact of the rule.