Coal fired power plant.Photo: Getty
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants.
The ruling inWest Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agencyis an indication that the EPA — the agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment — could see its powers severely limited.
The White House has long argued that the Clean Air Act gives the EPA broad powers to regulate emissions, though many Republican lawmakers have argued the opposite: that the federal government has no authority to regulate power plants and only Congress should decide on questions ofsignificant political or economic importance.
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Unlike many cases that come before the court, this one wasn’t based on a rule already in place, but will instead set a precedent for future actions, effectively handing the authority to regulate air pollution to a divided Congress.
The move comes as the Biden administration has set ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions and as scientists worldwide warn about the continued pace ofclimate change.
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While that and other recent rulings have led some activists and Democrats to call for an expansion of the court the White House has signaledPresident Joe Biden is opposed.
“That is something that the president does not agree with,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently told reporters when asked about Biden’s opinion on expanding the court. “That is not something that he wants to do.”
source: people.com
