The United States Supreme Court decided on Friday to hear a case brought by states, including coal producer West Virginia, and business organizations seeking to limit the federal government's ability to use the historic Clean Air Act to control carbon emissions from power plants.
The court's decision to hear the case may hinder President Joe Biden's administration's efforts to adopt new and stricter rules targeted at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The news came only two days before Biden was scheduled to arrive in Glasgow, Scotland, for the UN COP26 climate meeting, where he was expected to reestablish US leadership on climate change. His predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled the United States out of the Paris climate pact.
The top court will hear a lawsuit brought by 20 states and other business organizations, including coal interests, to review a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn a Trump-era rule meant to limit control of carbon emissions from power plants.
The appeals court had decided against Trump's Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which had been challenged by states and groups that backed previous President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan. This regulation would have given the EPA authority to control carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from coal-fired power stations.
The Supreme Court prevented Obama's regulation, which was the cornerstone of his climate change agenda, from going into force in 2016, but never decided on its legality.
Following the DC Circuit's decision to overturn the Trump rule, EPA Administrator Michael Regan stated on Twitter that the agency "got to work" and "will continue to advance new standards to ensure that all Americans are protected from the power plant pollution that harms public health and our economy."
The court will almost certainly hear the four combined cases within its current term, with a decision expected by the end of June.
On Thursday, Biden obtained a $555 billion framework agreement with Congressional Democrats to carry out components of his climate program, which he thought would bolster US credibility ahead of the COP26 conference.
"As a practical matter, this will almost certainly prevent the Biden Administration from moving forward with a new rule to regulate carbon emissions from the power sector," said Jeff Holmstead, a former assistant administrator, and lawyer at Bracewell
According to Ben Levitan, a senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, which is a party in the action, the organization will "vigorously defend the EPA's authority and obligation to protect American families from the clear and present risk of climate pollution spewed by power plants."
