Less than 10 case opinions are expected from the U.S. Supreme Court for their current term, and some should be announced Friday. One has the potential to derail President Joe Biden’s climate change plan.
This case, West Virginia v. the Environmental Protection Agency, is related to a Trump era repeal of the 2015 Clean Power Plan, according to Oyez. That plan established guidelines for states to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. In its place, the Trump administration issued the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, which eliminated or deferred the guidelines.
Justices are expected to decide whether Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions “in virtually any industry,” said Oyez.
In an interview with NPR, climate reporter Laura Benshoff said “on the narrow end, the court could just rule on what the EPA can do at power plants to regulate carbon emissions,” and that “on the broader end, they could say something expansive about the nature of agency power in general.”
She added, that “if it’s narrow, just limiting how the EPA regulates greenhouse gases at power plants, that could hurt the Biden administration’s goal of zeroing out carbon pollution from power plants.”
In April, the White House released a fact sheet regarding the president’s carbon emission and climate change goals for the U.S.
“The United States has set a goal to reach 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035,” said the document.
Benshoff said that a broader decision from the Supreme Court could have even more impact. She said it could send “shockwaves through many agencies and reframe the relationship between Congress and the executive branch.”
SCOTUS Blog said that, based on the remaining caseload of the court, opinions could also be released next week.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
Related
