President Trump's executive order targeting state climate laws has provoked outrage from environmental groups that charge the White House with unconstitutional overreach.
"This is an attack on states' rights to protect the health of our residents and respond to the impacts of climate change in Maine," said Anya Fetcher, a federal policy advocate at Natural Resources Council of Maine.
The Tuesday order directs the U.S. Attorney General to identify all state and local laws, regulations and practices that address climate change, environmental justice, greenhouse gas emissions and similar issues. It orders the Attorney General to take steps to stop the enforcement of state laws and continuation of lawsuits that they determine to be illegal.
The administration specifically alleged that state-level laws such as the climate superfund measures in Vermont and New York "extorts energy producers for alleged pas contributions to greenhouse gas emissions anywhere in the United States or the globe."
The laws seek to force fossil fuel companies to pay for storms and other damage made worse by a warming climate.
The administration declared those are unauthorized measures to regulate energy nationwide. President Trump has pledged to expand U.S. oil, gas and coal production while curbing renewable energy projects including ocean wind power.
"Many states have enacted, or in the process of enacting, burdensome and ideologically motivated 'climate change' or energy policies that threaten America's energy dominance and our economic and national security," the President said in his order.
But Bradley Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation, said the order is political theater that has no legal merit or consequence.
"No president has the power to stop enforcement of state laws based on their policy or political preference," Campbell said.
"This executive order is worrisome in that it assumes a power the President doesn't have to invalidate state laws," Campbell added. "It's worrisome because of it makes it clear that the Justice Department is going to be an instrument of the fossil fuel industry's agenda rather than the nation's chief law enforcer."
Even if the order doesn't have the power of law, its message could chill state-level policies to address climate change, said Fetcher, from the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
"Actions like these are really intended to scare state authorities, state legislators, into not moving forward with this type of legislation," Fetcher said. "And that's really where a lot of the harm can be, is, is, you know, trying to silence the will of individuals and and states."
Maine has climate policies including a goal to significantly reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 2040. It is also a member of a regional initiative that caps emissions from power plants.
The Maine Office of the Attorney General said it cannot opine on the legality of executive orders or laws they might impact.
The office "is committed to enforcing state and federal laws, and as such, will review all executive orders for lawfulness, possible applications, and respond accordingly," spokesperson Danna Hayes said in a statement.
