Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. In 2010, Cuccinelli sought judicial review of the Environmental Protection Agency's finding that greenhouse gasses endanger public health. In 2012, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Cuccinelli's arguments. In 2010, Cuccinelli announced he would challenge the March 2010 standards for motor vehicle fuel efficiency specified in the Clean Air Act. In April 2010, as part of the Attorney General of Virginia's climate science investigation, Cuccinelli served a civil investigative demand on the University of Virginia seeking a broad range of documents related to climate researcher Michael E. Mann. On August 30, 2010, Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that "the nature of the conduct is not stated so that any reasonable person could glean what Dr. Mann did to violate the statute." Cuccinelli appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to make these demands. The outcome was hailed as a victory for academic freedom.