The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to hold a “trial-style” public hearing on the scientific evidence for man-made climate change, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times.
Arguing that the trial is the only way to "make a fully informed, transparent decision with scientific integrity based on the actual record of the science,” the Chamber hopes to fend off potential new emissions regulations by undercutting the scientific consensus over climate change. If the EPA denies the request as expected, the organization plans to take the fight to federal court.
EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said the agency based its proposed finding that global warming is a danger to public health "on the soundest peer-reviewed science available, which overwhelmingly indicates that climate change presents a threat to human health and welfare.” Environmentalists say the Chamber's strategy is an attempt to sow political discord by challenging settled science.
EPA is reportedly set to formally declare that the heat-trapping gases scientists blame for climate change endanger human health, and are thus subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act. The so-called endangerment finding, expected in the coming weeks, will be a cornerstone of the Obama Administration's plan to set strict new emissions standards on cars and trucks.
