The Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday limiting the Environmental Protection Agency ‘s authority to regulate power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions.
The 6-3 ruling delivers a blow to Democrats and environmental groups, who want the agency to crack down on emissions from power plants and other sources to mitigate climate change.
“The only question before the Court is more narrow: whether the ‘best system of emission reduction’ identified by EPA in the Clean Power Plan was within the authority granted to the Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act,” the majority opinion read. “For the reasons given, the answer is no.”
Chief Justice John Roberts drafted the opinion and the court’s other five conservatives concurred, while its three liberals dissented.
The case in question, West Virginia v. EPA, stems from a petition from a mix of coal-producing states and coal companies that asked the high court justices to establish whether the Clean Air Act, one the nation’s most influential environmental laws, gives the agency broad authority to restrict power plant emissions.
See the full article by Jeremy Beaman & Kaelan Deese, June 30, 2022