


These hallways are generally quiet, the stillness occasionally broken by lawyers and judges speaking in hushed tones that echo the length of the building. Upstairs are the offices, chambers, and courtrooms of the 26 judges who sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Step inside the lobby known as the Great Hall, and it feels as if you’re walking into a cathedral with marble columns, arched windows, and towering ceilings decorated with bas-relief figures. Its Ionic colonnades recall the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Erected in the years leading up to World War I, it was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and subsumes an entire city block. Court of Appeals Building, just across the street from historic Lafayette Square, in downtown New Orleans, is one of the most majestic courthouses in the country. Today a panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit issued a stay of that injunction.The John Minor Wisdom U.S. The government uses it to evaluate climate damage when establishing policies. It should be overturned entirely when the case is heard on the merits.”Ī federal district court judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction in February restricting the Biden administration from using the measure known as the “social cost of carbon.” That measure reflects the best available scientific and economic analysis, based on extensive peer-reviewed information, to determine the monetary costs imposed by climate change.

“The lower court’s ruling was profoundly flawed, contrary to law, and would have put people’s lives and health at risk. It means policy makers can continue using the best available information to protect people from the dangers caused by climate change, to strengthen our nation’s energy security, and to help develop more well-paying American jobs,” said Vickie Patton, General Counsel for Environmental Defense Fund. “The Fifth Circuit’s decision is welcome news for the millions of Americans who are harmed by climate pollution. The Court of Appeals found the Biden administration is likely to prevail on the merits when the case is fully heard. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today lifted a lower court’s unprecedented restrictions on the federal government’s use of the most up-to-date information about the serious harms of climate pollution in its decision-making.
