State of California sues Trump Administration over environmental policies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KYMA, NBC) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference Thursday.

According to a press release, they announced that the state of California filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "rescission of the Endangerment Finding in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit."

Several other attorneys generals, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, also joined in on the lawsuit, with the attorneys general for Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut co-leading it with Attorney General Bonta.

The press release says, "The Endangerment Finding is EPA's formal acknowledgement that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution that drives climate change and endangers public health and welfare," and says "it has served as the legal basis under the Clean Air Act for limiting climate pollution from vehicles."

"With the unlawful rescission of the Endangerment Finding, President Trump and his EPA have abandoned their most important mission: protecting the health and welfare of the American people. The science doesn't lie. Climate change and GHG emissions are harming public health and causing devastating and ever-worsening disasters. Our communities have felt the impact of destructive wildfires, watched families run from burning homes, inhaling toxic fumes, and we've seen entire communities wash away in severe floods. The President can't keep his head in the sand — climate change is real and decades of settled science warned us this was coming," said Bonta. "Let me be clear: This unlawful rescission is not about cutting 'red tape.' The president is choosing Big Oil profits over our health, and betting that the American people won’t notice the cost until the bill comes due at the expense of our communities. We will not stand idly by while the federal government abdicates its responsibility to protect the public and follow the law. California will vigorously defend the Endangerment Finding in court and continue to fight to protect our communities, our health, and our natural resources."

During Thursday's press conference, Gov. Newsom stressed the urgency of addressing climate change, pointing to recent unusual weather in his state.

"In the middle of winter, March, in this unprecedented heat wave, go up to Lake Tahoe and see for yourself. Is this normal? California is about energy independence. We're about freedom, freedom from big oil, freedom from big manufactured global crises," the governor expressed.

To learn more about the lawsuit, click here. To watch the livestream of the press conference, see attached video.