The Biden administration’s climate change strategy was dealt a devastating defeat by the Supreme Court on Thursday, significantly curtailing the authority of federal agencies and prompting Democrats to froth at the mouth.
In a 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the court said that the EPA lacks broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. The decision restricts the agency to regulating individual power plants and not the entire power sector.
The Supreme Court sharply curtails the authority of the EPA to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change. In a 6-3 ruling, the court sides with conservative states and fossil-fuel companies in adopting a narrow reading of the Clean Air Act.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 30, 2022
The Supreme Court’s first decision of the day is West Virginia v. EPA. In a 6–3 decision by Roberts, the court strictly curbs the EPA’s power to mandate carbon emissions from existing power plants. https://t.co/EaPGix54LE
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) June 30, 2022
Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, “Congress did not grant EPA … the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generations shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan,” the court said.
The case stems from an Obama-era Environment Protection Agency climate rule and addresses the scope of Congress’s ability to delegate legislative authority to executive agencies.
The Clean Power Plan was repealed by the Trump administration when it was determined that it was unconstitutional, and it was replaced with a new regulation known as the ACE rule (Affordable Clean Energy Rule) which included looser restrictions and allowed states to regulate their standards.
Former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement at the time, “Unlike the Clean Power Plan, ACE adheres to the Clean Air Act and gives states the regulatory certainty they need to continue to reduce emissions and provide a dependable, diverse supply of electricity that all Americans can afford.”
However, other states and environmental organizations filed lawsuits, alleging that the EPA erred by adopting the ACE rule rather than carrying out the Clean Power Plan and that Trump’s rule did not go far enough.
The ACE regulation was overturned and the case was returned to the EPA when the D.C. Circuit Court sided with the challengers. However, the Supreme Court received requests for a review of the D.C. Verdict of the Circuit Court.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, claimed that the Clean Power Plan, implemented under the Obama administration, was an “unprecedented” attempt by the EPA to gain more power and that it “effected a fundamental revision of the statute, changing it from [one sort of] scheme of… regulation” into an entirely different kind.
Roberts concluded that without additional legislation from Congress, the EPA cannot force power stations to switch from fossil fuels to renewable resources. This is because Congress did not intend to grant the EPA the regulatory authority it was asserting.
“A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,” he wrote.
Reacting to the decision, Democratic lawmakers were aghast, and three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan complained that the court’s decision removes the power of the EPA to address “the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”
“Members of Congress often don’t know enough — and know that they don’t know enough — to regulate sensibly on an issue,” Kagan wrote.
“Members of Congress often can’t know enough — and again, know they can’t — to keep regulatory schemes working across time,“ she added.
House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) referred to Thursday’s decision as “catastrophic” and argued that the Senate should abolish the 60-vote filibuster requirement in order for Democrats to quickly pass climate legislation.
“A filibuster carveout is not enough. We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet,” she said.
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Sources: Conservativebrief, Theconversation, Usatoday
