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US Supreme Court limits EPA’s powers to fight climate change
6/7/2022
The US Supreme Court has voted to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) abilities to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants, in a ruling that will make it harder for President Joe Biden’s administration to meet its climate targets and could tie the hands of future administrations that want to take action on climate change.
The court case against the EPA had been brought by West Virginia on behalf of 18 other primarily Republican-led states and some of the US’ largest coal companies, amidst concerns that their power sectors would be forced to make a costly move away from coal in the drive to meet emissions targets.
It was argued that the EPA did not have the authority under the current US Clean Air Act to impose sweeping measures to limit emissions across whole states.
The court’s ruling does not completely prevent the EPA from making regulations in the future. However, Congress – which has previously rejected the EPA’s proposed carbon emissions cutting programmes –would have to clearly say it authorises this power.
The new limits on the EPA’s executive power come as President Biden’s clean energy investment package has stalled in Congress.
The Biden administration’s climate goals include a 52% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 against 2005 levels and a fully decarbonised electricity sector by 2035.
The White House blasted the ruling, saying: ‘This is another devastating decision from the Court that aims to take our country backwards. While the Court’s decision risks damaging our ability to keep our air clean and combat climate change, President Biden will not relent in using the authorities that he has under law to protect public health and tackle the climate change crisis.’
Environmental groups will be concerned as the 19 states are reported to have made little progress on reducing their emissions, having only cut emissions by 7% on average since 2000. They accounted for some 44% of US emissions in 2018.
‘Today's Supreme Court ruling undermines EPA’s authority to protect people from smokestack climate pollution at a time when all evidence shows we must take action with great urgency,’ said Vickie Patton, General Counsel for Environmental Defense Fund, which was a party to the case. ‘This is judicial overreach. Today’s ruling was made even though there are no national pollution standards in effect right now for existing power plants. Yet the Court still reached out to rule on an abstract question – and weakened EPA’s authority.’
She continued: ‘Climate disasters are growing more frequent, more deadly, and more costly every year. We have clean solutions that will help protect people from the damages of climate change while also creating economic opportunities and jobs. Today’s Supreme Court ruling should be a clarion call for President Biden, EPA Administrator Regan and Members of Congress that we need swift action to address the climate crisis.’
Governments across the world will have noted the outcome of this case, as it will affect global efforts to tackle climate change. The US accounts for nearly 14% of the world’s GHG emissions.
