Green group, children sue Trump over climate change policies

An environmental group and two Pennsylvania children have sued the Trump administration over the federal government’s approach to climate change.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Pennsylvania, alleges the U.S. is using “junk science” to roll back policies designed to limit the impact of climate change.

It comes from the Philadelphia-based Clean Air Council and two “child plaintiffs who have been personally impacted by climate change,” because one has asthma and another lived through Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene.

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They ask the court to stop the government from pushing “any rollbacks that increase the frequency and/or intensity of the life-threatening effects of climate change.”

“We will not stand idly by while President Trump and his agencies raze crucial environmental protections, ignore climate science, dispute well-documented facts and force future generations of Americans to suffer the consequences of this administration’s reckless choices and ignorant policies,” said Clean Air Council Executive Director and Chief Counsel Joseph Minott.

“We must hold the federal government accountable for the long-term environmental harm that is propagating under its direction. It’s time to fight back,” he said.

The suit names Trump, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt as defendants.

The lawsuit is similar to another effort by a group of 21 young people who have sued Trump and the federal government “for perpetrating climate chaos,” according to their website.

A federal judge has set a Feb. 5 trial date for that case.