Supreme Court Limits Environmental Protection Agency’s Ability to Take Action on Climate Change

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that a 2015 regulation called the Clean Power Plan exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority. The plan was intended to shift the country’s power sector toward sources that produce less carbon dioxide emissions. 

In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “[forcing] a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day,’ ” quoting another decision. However, he wrote that the EPA incorrectly relied on a certain section of the Clean Air Act to enact the regulation. 

“A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,” Roberts wrote.

Roberts’ opinion was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. The Court’s three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Elena Kagan writing that the Court “does not have a clue about how to address climate change.”

“And let’s say the obvious: The stakes here are high,” Kagan wrote. “Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.”

The Clean Power Plan would have shifted electricity generation to sources that release fewer emissions, the court explained. It favored the use of natural gas over coal, and the use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind over either. 

An EPA fact sheet had estimated that by 2030, the policy would reduce carbon emissions from the power sector by 32% from 2005 levels. According to the EPA, electricity production is the second largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. 

Read more HERE.