The Brookings Institution's The Current podcast looked at the 6-3 ruling on the case of West Virginia vs the Environmental Protection Agency, in which the Supreme Court greatly curtailed the power of the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, "in a decision that hobbles federal government’s ability to combat climate change and has broader implications for federal regulatory power across the board."
Ford School professor Barry Rabe spoke about the ruling's implications.
"The Court weighed in pretty decisively, that six-three vote, on powers that the Court concluded EPA did not have under that original Clean Power Plan. That was really the main focal point for yesterday, but potentially with much broader ramifications. It means in effect, it's not stripping away EPA power to engage on climate but raises lots and lots of uncertainties, because that very approach that the Obama administration took is clearly off the table in the eyes of the majority of the court, he said.
"There's a there's a really tricky juggling act at this point for the Biden the administration. The clock is already ticking toward 2024, there's only so much that can be done either on the executive action path, which is challenging, or the legislative path which is thus far been very, very challenging as well," he added.
