Justices Chug And Nonentity Seem To Favor WV Coal Case That Would Strip Fed Power To Take On Warming
Several conservative justices on the US supreme court signaled on Monday that they may be willing to restrict the federal government’s ability to address the climate crisis. In a case that could have profound implications for those affected by the crisis, the supreme court considered an argument brought by West Virginia, a major coal mining state, that the US Environmental Protection Agency be limited in how it regulates planet-heating gases from the energy sector.
The Biden administration wants the court to throw out the case as baseless because it doesn’t relate to any existing regulation. But John Roberts, the chief justice, said West Virginia and other states could still claim some “harm” from rules not yet enacted. Brett Kavanaugh, another conservative, noted that the court had previously expressed “skepticism” about the government’s ability to regulate a “significant portion of the American economy”. Amy Coney Barrett, like Kavanaugh nominated by Donald Trump, indicated, however, that the EPA had the expertise to regulate in this area.
The case has deeply worried environmental groups, stoking fear it could hobble any effort to set strict limits on carbon pollution from coal-fired plants. “It was grotesque to hear big coal’s lawyers argue for tying EPA’s hands on cutting climate-heating pollution, even as the world’s scientists warn of a bigger, worsening swath of human suffering,” said Jason Rylander, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, referring to a report released on Monday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “We’re out of time and the president must act boldly now,” Rylander said.
EDIT
The case has a long and complicated history that begins with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. That would have required states to reduce emissions from the generation of electricity, mainly by shifting away from coal. But it never took effect. In a 2016 lawsuit filed by West Virginia and others, the supreme court blocked it by a 5-4 vote, with conservatives in the majority.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/28/supreme-court-epa-biden-climate-crisis