Washington – Business Roundtable (BRT) today welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision that will prevent states and environmental groups from using federal lawsuits to impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

BRT President John Engler said the Court’s 8-0 ruling in favor of five major electric utilities in American Electric Power v. State of Connecticut eases a major economic threat posed by public nuisance lawsuits that sought to give the courts authority to set national climate policy.

“The Supreme Court made the right decision today, ending litigation that had created serious legal uncertainty that undermined capital investment, market stability and the creation of new jobs,” Engler said. “With unemployment above 9 percent, the last thing employers needed was yet another new regulatory imposition, this time accomplished through the abuse of public nuisance laws.”

In February, BRT filed an amicus brief in support of the country’s five largest electric utilities, which had been sued by eight state attorneys general and several environmental organizations in an effort to force strict emission limits on the companies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had sided with the states in a September 2009 ruling. The Supreme Court overturned that ruling today, concluding that the authority for setting greenhouse gas limits rested with the Environmental Protection Agency.

BRT’s brief argued that it was unwise for the courts to set regulatory and economic policy for such a scientifically complex, global issue as climate policy. In addition, a case-by-case judicial approach would produce inconsistent regulation that would clash with federal policy, exacerbating the regulatory uncertainty that currently afflicts U.S. employers.

“Business investment requires a predictable regulatory environment, which this excessive litigation dangerously undermined,” Engler said. “The Supreme Court’s decision today thankfully ends at least this serious threat to the private sector’s ability to invest, expand economic activity and create jobs.”