Virginia Attorney General Joins 25-State Coalition to Halt Biden Administration’s Climate Mandate

Attorney General Jason Miyares has announced a significant step against the Biden Administration’s climate policy, highlighting a legal challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandate that requires businesses to track and report their greenhouse gas emissions. This action, part of a broader push by President Biden for a green energy transition, mandates companies to disclose not only their emissions but also the financial risks climate change might pose, including potential increases in insurance costs due to weather-related disasters. Moreover, businesses would need to outline their strategies for adapting to climate change recommendations, a move critics argue could cost billions annually.

Miyares, representing Virginia in a coalition of 25 states, has successfully obtained a temporary, nationwide halt on the implementation of this mandate while the lawsuit proceeds. The coalition argues that such sweeping regulations should not be enacted without explicit congressional approval, asserting that the mandate represents an overreach of executive power and avoids the legislative process.

The Virginia Attorney General emphasized the administration’s avoidance of Congress as an attempt to implement what he describes as “extreme, harmful, and expensive policies” directly impacting Americans. “President Biden continues to try to push his most extreme, harmful, and expensive policies without congressional approval – because he knows they’ll fail in Congress. He is actively avoiding the voice of the American people on mandates that will directly impact them,” Miyares stated, pledging to defend Virginians and, by extension, all Americans from federal overreach.

The ongoing legal challenge is a clear stand against what the states involved view as an unconstitutional push by the Biden Administration to further its climate agenda without proper legislative backing. Virginia, alongside states like Iowa, Alabama, Texas, and West Virginia, argues that the SEC’s climate mandate exceeds its authority by requiring such disclosures without an act of Congress.

This lawsuit is a critical moment in the broader national debate over climate policy, the scope of executive power, and the regulatory authority of federal agencies like the SEC. As the legal process unfolds, it will likely become a pivotal case in determining the future of climate-related business regulations in the United States.