The Supreme Court on Thursday restricted the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to combat the climate emergency by ruling that it cannot limit greenhouse gas emissions produced by power plants, a serious blow to the environmental policies of the country. Government of Joe Biden.
The court noted that the federal agency does not have the authority to modify energy production by promoting clean sources, such as solar or wind.
The decision sets a precedent for the EPA's power over power plant emissions regulation and its attempts to act on global warming.
Coal power plant in Pineville, South Carolina. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The court ruling, in addition, may delay the announcement that the White House planned to make this summer on its plan to regulate the plants, as part of the strategy so that the country's electricity network completely dispenses with polluting sources in 2035.
The Clean Air Act, at the center of the battle
The legal battle began years ago due to the disagreement of several states on the scope of the Clean Air Act, a regulation approved in 1970 that establishes the role of the EPA to protect air quality through measures that reduce pollution. .
In 2015, a year before the United States joined the Paris Agreement on the climate emergency, then President Barack Obama pushed through a series of restrictions on power plants through the Clean Air Act, which forced states to start a transition towards cleaner energies.
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However, twenty states sued the EPA and Obama's Clean Power Plan was suspended by the Supreme Court pending resolution in lower courts.
With the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House, the Government replaced the Obama plan in 2019 with another called Clean Affordable Energy, much more lax with the pollution limits.
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In addition, the EPA under the Trump Administration determined that the federal agency cannot force states to change their power plants for cleaner ones, as Obama had dictated.
Another group of states succeeded in blocking Trump's move in court, leaving open the possibility that policies that cap greenhouse gas emissions from power plants would be allowed.
This led a group of Republican attorneys general and coal companies to appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that only Congress - and not a federal agency - can impose laws that affect power generation and, therefore, the country's economy. .
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The Joe Biden administration, which rejoined the Paris Agreement after Trump pulled the United States out, argues that the Clean Air Act gives the EPA sweeping powers.
A large number of companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Tesla have publicly shown their support for the Biden government and have come to defend, in a brief sent to the Supreme Court, that "both corporate and regulatory action are necessary to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
Reduce pollution by 50% in 10 years
Biden arrived at the White House with an ambitious action plan against the climate emergency, which includes reducing pollution by at least 50% throughout this decade, as well as stopping carbon emissions by 2035.
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However, the president has not achieved the consensus he needed to pass a powerful law that would demonstrate his commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In fact, he arrived at the last UN climate summit with his credibility at stake due to the lack of consensus within the Democratic Party itself on how to address the challenges posed by global warming.
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What Biden has achieved is earmarking $555 billion for climate spending – a historic sum – including $300 billion in tax incentives for wind, solar and nuclear power, and credits of up to $12,500 for electric vehicle buyers. .