A federal appeals court has ruled against dozens of businesses, organizations and states that challenged greenhouse gas emissions limitations for factories set by environmental regulators. The three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concluded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is correct in its stance that greenhouse gases are hazardous to human health and the regulations it sets to reduce emissions must be upheld and cannot be challenged in court.

More than 60 lawsuits seeking to eradicate federal greenhouse gas rules have been filed against the EPA by companies including Mass Energy Co., business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and states such as Texas and Virginia, according to Bloomberg News.

“Today’s ruling is a setback for businesses facing damaging regulations from the EPA,” said Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers. “The EPA’s decision to move forward with these regulations is one of the most costly, complex and burdensome regulations facing manufacturers. These regulations will harm their ability to hire, invest and grow.”

But the court said the EPA has “substantial record evidence” that greenhouse gases probably caused or contributed to global warming.

“In the end, petitioners are asking us to re-weigh the scientific evidence before EPA and reach our own conclusion,” the judges wrote in their ruling. “This is not our role.”

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the ruling validates the EPA’s approach to greenhouse gas emissions regulations.

“I am pleased that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that EPA followed both the science and the law in taking common-sense, reasonable actions to address the very real threat of climate change by limiting greenhouse gas pollution from the largest sources,” she said in a statement.

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