By Andrew Chung
(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to suspend a new federal rule targeting carbon pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants, at the request of numerous states and industry groups. This is another major challenge for President Joe Biden’s efforts to combat climate change.
The justices rejected emergency requests from West Virginia, Indiana and 25 other states — most of which are Republican-led — as well as energy companies and industry associations to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule, while lawsuits continue in a lower court . The regulation, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, came into effect on July 8.
The rule would require existing coal and new natural gas plants to eventually reduce emissions, including by capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
The court did not explain its brief order denying the challengers’ requests, although conservative Justice Clarence dissented from the decision.
The challengers “have demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on at least some of their challenges” to the rule, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in a written statement accompanying the order, joined by fellow conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch.
However, they are unlikely to suffer irreparable harm before the lower court completes its review of the dispute because they don’t have to begin work to comply with the rule until June 2025, Kavanaugh added.
On October 4, the justices rejected attempts to suspend other new US air pollution rules to tighten limits on mercury and methane.
The EPA’s new carbon pollution rule, issued under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law, was issued two years after a major Supreme Court ruling in 2022, undermining the agency’s authority to issue sweeping regulations to to force a shift away from coal power generation. towards cleaner energy sources.
The EPA has said efforts to address climate change and its impacts, such as extreme weather and rising sea levels, must include the energy sector, because fossil fuel plants make up 25% of total domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, the rule requires coal-fired power plants operating after 2038, and certain new gas-fired power plants, to reduce emissions by 90% by 2032, including by using carbon capture and storage systems that capture carbon dioxide from plant exhaust collect and store them underground.
The EPA has called the technology proven and technically feasible. The rule’s challengers have said the rule has not proven effective on the scale predicted by the EPA.
The rule’s requirements are “in reality a backdoor way to eliminate coal-fired power plants,” West Virginia, a major coal producer, and other state challengers said in a written filing.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling was based on what’s called the “big questions” legal doctrine, embraced by conservative justices and requiring explicit congressional authorization for action on issues of broad importance and social impact.
The states and certain other challengers argue that EPA’s new rule also raises an important issue and exceeds the agency’s authority.
Numerous states and industry players have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which on July 19 denied requests to suspend the rule pending its review.
The case did not imply a high demand because the EPA’s actions in setting plant limits were “well within” its statutory authority, the D.C. Circuit said.
