Georgia's attorney general has joined with 22 other states filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that lawmakers - not federal judges - should regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

State Attorney General Sam Olens said Tuesday that the amicus brief was filed in the appeal, pitting American Electric Power Company Inc. against several states.

The states say excessive carbon dioxide emissions by certain power plants contribute to global warming and constitute a "public nuisance. The want the federal judiciary should by judicial decree limit the emissions.

Olens says the plaintiffs are attempting to use the power of federal courts to advance their agenda on the "highly political issue of global climate change."

Tags: Georgia, U.S. Supreme Court, Attorney General, climate change legislation, Sam Olens