Environmental groups and four U.S. cities can sue federal development agencies on allegations the overseas projects they back financially contribute to global warming, a judge has ruled.
SAN FRANCISCO — Environmental groups and four U.S. cities can sue federal development agencies on allegations the overseas projects they back financially contribute to global warming, a judge has ruled.
A coalition of environmental groups sued two government agencies that provide loans and insure billions of dollars of U.S. investors' money for development projects overseas. Many are power plants that emit greenhouses gases such as carbon dioxide that are believed to be a leading cause of global warming.
"This is the first decision in the country to say that climate change causes sufficient injury to give a plaintiff standing, to open the courthouse door," said Ronald Shems, a Vermont attorney representing Friends of the Earth.
That group, in addition to Greenpeace, Boulder, Colo., and the California cities of Oakland, Santa Monica and Arcata, sued the government agencies.
They argued that the National Environmental Policy Act, the law requiring environmental assessments of proposed projects in the United States, should apply to the U.S.-backed projects overseas because they contribute to the degradation of the U.S. environment.
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The agencies, known as the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Export-Import Bank of the United States, claimed that U.S. environmental regulations do not apply to overseas projects, and that the courts have no right to intervene.
Still, the ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White was narrow. He did not rule whether the federal agencies must perform environmental assessments of projects they help fund, but simply said the environmental groups have a right to sue.
If White's decision stands, the issue of whether U.S. environmental rules apply to the projects backed by the agencies likely will be litigated, Shems said.
Linda Formella, a spokeswoman with Export-Import Bank, said the agency does not comment on pending cases. The Overseas Private Investment Corp. did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Source: Associated Press
