Five large energy utilities in the U.S. escaped having the U.S. District Court place limits on their CO2 emissions, but the plaintiffs are appealing the Judge's dismissal of the case.

In July, 2004, eight states and environmental groups filed suit against five utilities, arguing that greenhouse gas emissions from their plants were a public nuisance and would cause irreparable harm to property. They asked the US District Court to force the utilities to cut their carbon-dioxide emissions.

In September, 2005, the court dismissed the suit, saying the issue was a political question for Congress or the President to decide, not the judiciary.

Reading between the lines
"While the court's analysis is potentially far-reaching, equally important is what the court did not say," wrote Lisa Jaeger, an attorney with DC law firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, in her article "Global Warming In Court" in the latest issue of Energy Biz magazine. "By resting its decision on the political nature of the case, the court sidestepped other more cumbersome, less conclusive bases for a decision."

Who sued
The plaintiffs are the states of California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

"The district court unfortunately took an erroneously narrow view of its authority, and our hope is that the federal courts will hold these polluting plants accountable for the harm they do to our health and environment," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, quoted in an article about the appeal on Planet Ark. "We're going to continue to fight as long and as hard as is necessary to protect our citizens."

Who they sued
The utilities are American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP), Southern Co., Xcel Energy Inc., Cinergy Corp. and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) public power system. All five utilities have a substantial amount of coal-fired generation, which emits roughly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas-fired plants.

"This is not something to be decided by the courts -- this is purely a policy decision that belongs with elected officials," American Electric Power spokesman Pat Hemlepp said. "We're confident that the appeal will show the same thing."