Venner v. EPA

In the consolidated proceedings challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final rule rescinding the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act and repealing all greenhouse gas emission standards for motor vehicles and engines, youth petitioners filed a motion requesting that the D.C. Circuit stay the rule and keep in place “the legal paradigm that existed from 2009 to 2026.” Citing expert declarations that accompanied their motion, the youth petitioners argued that in the absence of a stay, the rule would result in unavoidable increases in emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants that would threaten their lives, infringe on their liberties, and substantially burden their religious freedoms. They contended they were likely to succeed on their claims that the rule violated their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Fifth Amendment. The youth petitioners also contended that the imminent harms to them and to the public tipped the balance of harms and the public interest in favor of a stay. Other petitioners challenging the rule did not take a position on the motion.