Supreme Court rules for coal-producing states, limits EPA’s power to fight climate change
2 years, 5 months ago

Supreme Court rules for coal-producing states, limits EPA’s power to fight climate change

LA Times  

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for the major coal-producing states and sharply limited the Biden administration’s authority to restrict the carbon pollution that is causing global warming. Gen. Patrick Morrisey called the ruling a “huge win for West Virginia and a huge victory against federal overreach and the excesses of the administrative state.” Harvard law professor Richard Lazarus, an environmental law expert, called it “a major setback for the EPA’s ability to address climate change, and it could hardly come at a worse time.” The court is insisting on clear congressional action before approving climate change regulation when it “knows that Congress is effectively dysfunctional,” he said. “Before the ruling came out, there was some concern that the court’s decision could threaten California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act, which lets California restrict greenhouse gas emissions from cars,” Horowitz said. “Because this case does not constrain EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles, at least not directly, I think there’s good reason to think that California’s auto emissions standards for climate pollution survive. “The radical Supreme Court has weakened our country’s ability to prevent the climate crisis from becoming a catastrophe for our planet and everyone living on it,” said U.S. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán.

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History of this topic

EPA grants California authority to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035. Action faces reversal by Trump
Trending News
5 days, 4 hours ago

EPA grants California authority to ban sales of new gas cars by 2035. Action faces reversal by Trump

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Environmental Protection Agency …

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to California’s strict vehicle emissions rules
1 week ago

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to California’s strict vehicle emissions rules

CNN  

CNN — The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up an appeal from conservative states challenging California’s ability to establish strict vehicle emission rules that effectively set the standard for the rest of the nation. In 2019, the first Trump administration rolled back California’s decades-old waiver that had allowed it to set its own air pollution standards. The state’s air …

Supreme Court to hear challenge to California's authority to set vehicle emissions standards
Trending News
1 week, 3 days ago

Supreme Court to hear challenge to California's authority to set vehicle emissions standards

NPR  

Supreme Court to hear challenge to California's authority to set vehicle emissions standards toggle caption Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Can the federal government have a favorite when it comes to states? The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would hear a case that tests that assertion in the context of a state that imposes tougher clean air standards than the …

U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California’s zero-emissions goal
1 week, 3 days ago

U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California’s zero-emissions goal

LA Times  

Gavin Newsom speaks at a press conference on Sept. 23, 2020, at Cal Expo in Sacramento, where he announced an executive order requiring the sale of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035, a move the governor says would achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The Supreme Court opened the door Friday for a potential challenge …

Letters to the Editor: Regardless of Trump, the battle against climate change is picking up. Let’s keep it going
1 month ago

Letters to the Editor: Regardless of Trump, the battle against climate change is picking up. Let’s keep it going

LA Times  

Postal Service worker inspects trucks in a flooded area of New Port Richley, Fla., after Hurricane Milton on Oct. 11. Last year, the average global temperature was 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, a tipping point for much greater damage. The renewable energy transition has also reached a tipping point; new renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels, and almost …

Supreme Court allows a rule limiting pollution from coal-fired power plants to remain in effect
2 months ago

Supreme Court allows a rule limiting pollution from coal-fired power plants to remain in effect

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Supreme Court lets Biden’s power plant climate rule take effect
2 months, 1 week ago

Supreme Court lets Biden’s power plant climate rule take effect

Politico  

The Supreme Court’s decision elevates the issue of climate change just weeks before the presidential election. “We will continue to fight through the merits phase and prove this rule strips the states of important discretion while forcing plants to use technologies that don’t work in the real world.” Alex Bond, the executive director for clean energy and environment at the …

Recent Supreme Court decisions are already slowing climate progress
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Recent Supreme Court decisions are already slowing climate progress

Salon  

During its last session, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority dealt blow after blow to federal agencies’ authority to draft and enforce policies, including those aimed at mitigating climate change. “That’s not good for the energy transition that we actually need to go through.” In its most consequential ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the so-called Chevron doctrine, which has since 1984 …

Montana urges state top court to overturn landmark climate ruling
5 months, 1 week ago

Montana urges state top court to overturn landmark climate ruling

Hindustan Times  

By Nate Raymond Montana urges state top court to overturn landmark climate ruling July 10 - Montana's top court on Wednesday appeared open to upholding a landmark ruling that found the state violated the rights of young people to a healthy environment by barring regulators from considering how new fossil fuel projects could affect climate change. Several justices on the …

Republicans urge reversal of landmark ruling in Montana climate change lawsuit by young plaintiffs
5 months, 1 week ago

Republicans urge reversal of landmark ruling in Montana climate change lawsuit by young plaintiffs

Associated Press  

— Attorneys for Republican officials pressed Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by allowing oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming. Last year’s ruling by a state district judge was considered a breakthrough in attempts by young environmentalists and …

Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize California’s environmental rules
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Supreme Court ruling could jeopardize California’s environmental rules

LA Times  

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling will probably pave the way for more legal challenges — and potential setbacks — for California’s groundbreaking clean air rules and myriad other federal environmental protections. In a 6-3 decision last week, the Supreme Court overturned the so-called Chevron doctrine, a long-standing legal precedent that instructed U.S. courts to rely on federal agencies to …

Opinion: Did Hawaii just pave the way for court enforcement of California’s climate promises?
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Opinion: Did Hawaii just pave the way for court enforcement of California’s climate promises?

LA Times  

A roadside memorial for victims of last year’s Maui wildfire. The resulting deal will accelerate Hawaii’s progress toward a zero-emission transportation system, and it could serve as a road map for other advocates looking to gain ground on urgent climate goals. In addition to a statewide 2045 carbon neutrality target, the state Legislature enacted a 2030 emissions reduction goal and …

Supreme Court halts enforcement of the EPA’s plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Supreme Court halts enforcement of the EPA’s plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations. Yet the high court’s order, “leaves large swaths of upwind States free to keep contributing significantly to their downwind neighbors’ ozone problems for the next several years,” she wrote. The …

Supreme Court blocks EPA rule to limit air pollution from Midwest states
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Supreme Court blocks EPA rule to limit air pollution from Midwest states

LA Times  

A coal-fired power plant in Glenrock, Wyo., is silhouetted against the morning sun. The so-called good neighbor rule is part of the Clean Air Act, and the Environmental Protection Agency says it ensures that sources of air pollution in “upwind states” must take steps to reduce it if it is “affecting air quality in downwind states.” In its latest update, …

Supreme Court asks Justice Department to weigh in on climate change suits in California, other states
6 months, 1 week ago

Supreme Court asks Justice Department to weigh in on climate change suits in California, other states

LA Times  

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Justice Department to weigh in on whether the climate change lawsuits filed by California and two dozen other cities and states should be blocked. The oil and gas industries had urged the high court to take up the issue now and to rule that federal law preempts or overrides state claims seeking damages …

Oil industry asks Supreme Court to block climate change lawsuits from California, other states
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Oil industry asks Supreme Court to block climate change lawsuits from California, other states

LA Times  

Maps show temperature ranges of California’s average hottest day of the year from 1950 to 2010, left, compared to projections for the rest of this century under different scenarios, center and right. Oil and gas companies are asking the Supreme Court to block dozens of high-powered lawsuits from California to Massachusetts seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of …

Court upholds California’s authority to set nation-leading vehicle emission rules
8 months, 1 week ago

Court upholds California’s authority to set nation-leading vehicle emission rules

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California can continue to set its own nation-leading vehicle emissions standards, a federal court ruled Tuesday — two years after the Biden administration restored the state’s authority to do so as part of its efforts to reverse Trump-era environmental rollbacks. In 2022, Ohio led a coalition of states in filing a petition to attempt to block California’s …

Editorial: California can’t let big polluters win by undermining climate change disclosure laws
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Editorial: California can’t let big polluters win by undermining climate change disclosure laws

LA Times  

California took a big step last fall when lawmakers passed a pair of laws requiring big companies doing business in the state to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks, shining a light on their role in fueling the climate crisis. Opinion Editorial: California’s lawsuit against Big Oil could help end decades of climate lies California’s climate lawsuit against …

Supreme Court seems skeptical of EPA’s ‘good neighbor’ rule on power plant pollution
10 months ago

Supreme Court seems skeptical of EPA’s ‘good neighbor’ rule on power plant pollution

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed skeptical Wednesday as the Environmental Protection Agency sought to continue enforcing an anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country. The EPA’s “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. The justices …

Montana Supreme Court upholds landmark climate ruling that said emissions can’t be ignored
11 months ago

Montana Supreme Court upholds landmark climate ruling that said emissions can’t be ignored

Associated Press  

— Montana’s Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the state’s Republican governor to block a landmark climate ruling that said regulators must consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing permits for fossil fuel development. Seeley ruled a state law that prohibited agencies from considering the effect of emissions runs afoul of the state constitution’s requirement “to maintain …

18 California children are suing the EPA over climate change
1 year ago

18 California children are suing the EPA over climate change

NPR  

18 California children are suing the EPA over climate change Enlarge this image toggle caption William Campbell/Getty Images William Campbell/Getty Images Eighteen California children are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming it violated their constitutional rights by failing to protect them from the effects of climate change. We are running from wildfires, being displaced by floods, panicking in hot classrooms …

The Supreme Court's decision helping polluters is "ideologically driven," says expert
1 year, 6 months ago

The Supreme Court's decision helping polluters is "ideologically driven," says expert

Salon  

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency may only regulate wetlands when they possess "a continuous surface connection" to other large regulated bodies of water. Throwing out a precedent by moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy, which allowed the EPA to protect wetlands if they have a "significant nexus" to nearby regulated waters, conservative Justice Samuel Alito's majority …

EPA: New pollution limits proposed for US coal, gas power plants reflect ‘urgency’ of climate crisis
1 year, 7 months ago

EPA: New pollution limits proposed for US coal, gas power plants reflect ‘urgency’ of climate crisis

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration proposed new limits Thursday on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. President Joe Biden called the plan “a major step forward in the climate crisis and protecting public health.” If finalized, the proposed regulation …

The Supreme Court Has Made It Harder to Regulate New Technologies
2 years, 1 month ago

The Supreme Court Has Made It Harder to Regulate New Technologies

Slate  

In the late ’90s, following the grand reveal of Dolly the Sheep, there was an uproar about the potential for cloning humans. For example, the EPA has stepped in to regulate how genetically modified insects are released into the environment using its existing authority on “pesticides.” Congress has made no objection to this move but, no matter, the major questions …

Supreme Court screw-up shackles the EPA on climate change
2 years, 5 months ago

Supreme Court screw-up shackles the EPA on climate change

Raw Story  

The main thing I remember about that day at the U.S. Supreme Court was how cold it felt. Instead, Trump’s EPA came up with a new plan that would not hurt the industry Trump himself often described as “clean, beautiful coal.” I prefer to think of it as the “black-lung-for-everyone” plan. “Today, the court strips the EPA of the power …

In light of EPA court ruling, new focus on states’ power
2 years, 5 months ago

In light of EPA court ruling, new focus on states’ power

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The U.S. Supreme Court limited the power of the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. While Democratic states have taken the lead on the most aggressive climate policy in recent years, some Republican-led states are also helping shift the U.S. power grid toward cleaner sources of energy. More than a dozen U.S. …

EXPLAINER: Why Court’s EPA-climate change ruling matters
2 years, 5 months ago

EXPLAINER: Why Court’s EPA-climate change ruling matters

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s climate change ruling on Thursday is likely to hinder President Joe Biden’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and to make the U.S. a global leader again in the fight to slow global warming. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, said the Clean Air Act …

Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions
2 years, 5 months ago

Supreme Court limits EPA in curbing power plant emissions

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. I cannot think of many things more frightening.” Biden, in a statement, called the ruling “another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.” …

The Real Target of the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision
2 years, 5 months ago

The Real Target of the Supreme Court’s EPA Decision

Slate  

In yet another major blow to democratic constitutionalism, the Supreme Court ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Clean Air Act does not give EPA authority to regulate the power grid as a whole. Taking its cue from then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the court has explained that Congress must very clearly delegate to agencies the authority to decide matters of …

The Supreme Court Is Jeopardizing Federal Climate Action
54 years, 11 months ago

The Supreme Court Is Jeopardizing Federal Climate Action

Wired  

Today, in a ruling on a nonexistent plan with nonexistent harms to the people who brought the suit, the Supreme Court took an opportunity to curb the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the power sector’s carbon emissions. The complaint was about the Clean Power Plan, a set of rules issued by the EPA in 2015 that would …

U.S. Supreme Court limits Biden’s powers in curbing emissions
2 years, 5 months ago

U.S. Supreme Court limits Biden’s powers in curbing emissions

The Hindu  

In a blow to the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court on Thursday limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. By a 6-3 vote, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the Environmental Protection Agency broad authority to …

Op-Ed: Another devastating Supreme Court decision — this time for the environment and public safety
2 years, 5 months ago

Op-Ed: Another devastating Supreme Court decision — this time for the environment and public safety

LA Times  

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on Thursday to severely limit the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to combat greenhouse gas emissions is devastating at a time when climate change endangers the planet. The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, applied the “major questions doctrine” in a way that would strike down any regulation that has significant effects …

How California will fight Supreme Court’s limits on EPA climate enforcement
2 years, 5 months ago

How California will fight Supreme Court’s limits on EPA climate enforcement

LA Times  

Rob Bonta, right, shown speaking during a news conference in April in Playa Del Rey, described the Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to curb the EPA’s ability to fight climate change as “misguided and gravely disappointing.” Many public officials and environmental advocates in California were dismayed by Thursday’s Supreme Court decision to limit federal authority on greenhouse gases from power plants, …

Editorial: The Supreme Court just made it harder to save the planet
2 years, 5 months ago

Editorial: The Supreme Court just made it harder to save the planet

LA Times  

At a moment when the world should be racing to prevent the worst effects of global warming, the Supreme Court just made it harder for the U.S. to cut carbon emissions from power plants quickly and cost-effectively. To be clear, the ruling didn’t remove the EPA’s authority to cut carbon emissions from individual power plants, which are responsible for about …

Supreme Court Conservatives Poised To Halt Biden Administration’s Climate Regulations
2 years, 9 months ago

Supreme Court Conservatives Poised To Halt Biden Administration’s Climate Regulations

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING On the same day a United Nations report found that the impacts of climate change will be even worse than we previously thought, the Supreme Court heard arguments that could significantly tie the hands of the Biden administration from doing anything about it. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued that the major questions doctrine should not only not …

Justices wrestle with EPA power to curb carbon emissions
2 years, 9 months ago

Justices wrestle with EPA power to curb carbon emissions

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled Monday with the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to curb greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s power plants, a case that could hamstring the Biden administration’s plans to combat climate change. A new policy to regulate carbon productions from power plants is not expected before the end of the year, Elizabeth Prelogar, Biden’s top Supreme …

US Supreme Court weighs EPA’s authority to limit carbon emissions
2 years, 9 months ago

US Supreme Court weighs EPA’s authority to limit carbon emissions

Al Jazeera  

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday in a challenge by coal-producing states that could deal a setback to the Biden administration’s plans to combat climate change. Prelogar said the Supreme Court’s consideration of the issue was premature because the EPA would unveil a proposed new regulation by the end of the year – likely after the court’s …

Corporate secrecy over climate change targeted by Washington and California
3 years, 7 months ago

Corporate secrecy over climate change targeted by Washington and California

LA Times  

The Camp fire burns near Pulga, Calif., in 2018. “Regulators are really interested in this.” A frenzy of activity aimed at forcing corporate climate transparency is underway at the White House, in the California Capitol in Sacramento, and across federal financial regulatory agencies. Chevron’s marketing campaigns portraying the firm as a leader in clean energy and environmental justice moved the …

California vs. Trump hits the 100-lawsuit mark with new challenge to environmental rules
4 years, 3 months ago

California vs. Trump hits the 100-lawsuit mark with new challenge to environmental rules

LA Times  

Gen. Xavier Becerra said he has filed his 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration. “It’s like the Trump administration is giving the attorney general an in-kind contribution to his next campaign.” Though Newsom has to be careful about upsetting a president who controls how much money the state gets in disaster aid, Becerra faces no such constraints, said Claremont McKenna …

California sued over climate change policy — by the nation’s biggest gas utility
4 years, 4 months ago

California sued over climate change policy — by the nation’s biggest gas utility

LA Times  

Southern California Gas Co. is taking its battle with state officials over climate change policy to court, arguing in a new lawsuit that the California Energy Commission has failed to promote natural gas as required by state law. A separate lawsuit was filed last week against the state’s Air Resources Board by the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, whose two …

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