The US Supreme Court’s EPA Ruling: Looking Ahead

On the 30th of June 2022, The United States Supreme Court passed its ruling on the West Virginia v Environmental Protection Agency case in a 6-3 decision whereby the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases (GHG) was restricted.

The US Supreme Court on the day of its ruling on the West Virginia v Environmental Protection Agency case. Image Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the Federal Government created during the Nixon administration in 1970, designated to, as their website states, “protect people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations”. The achievements of the EPA are plenty, in 2021 and early 2022 alone, it has been instrumental in phasing down climate super pollutants, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), cutting emissions from cars and light trucks, and reducing emissions from new and existing oil and gas sources. However, with the ruling, the power to impose and implement such standards has been curtailed greatly, specifically, the broad regulatory powers to control GHG emissions from power plants provided by the Clean Air Act, an air quality law enforced to reduce air pollution. The Court stated that the broad regulatory powers instead belong to Congress, when it was Congress that created the EPA specifically for this reason. Thanks to partisan gridlock, Congress is not about to take action to change the status. This decision was reached in accordance with the ‘major question doctrine’ created by the Supreme Court whereby it can declare a judicial veto on any regulation by a federal agency that the Supreme Court disagrees with. It is important to note that this decision stands contrary to the decision by the Supreme Court in the Massachusetts v EPA case in 2007 where it ruled that the EPA had a duty to regulate GHG emissions because they pose a threat to human health. This difference in judgement is a direct result of the change in the balance of the Supreme Court during the last administration.

This decision at face value has an impact on the GHGs emitted by conventional power plants and their role in climate change. In addition to this, the harmful effects of air pollutants emitted by the power plants are widely neglected in the bigger discourse of this judgment. Power plants have lasting impacts on the health of the communities that live close to them mostly African Americans, Hispanics and other vulnerable communities. Cancer, respiratory illnesses, and reduced life expectancy are some key health complications related to power plants. This decision therefore advertently inhibits the EPA to carry out its role of “protecting the people and the environment from significate health risks”. For perspective, in 2019, air pollution was responsible for 60,200 deaths in the United States alone.

Yet climate action is not defeated. The responsibility now more than ever falls on the states, local governments and corporations. There have been successes at these levels already. For instance, some coal power plants have already shifted to cleaner methods of energy production. This becomes so due to the ever-reducing cost of renewable energy operations with corporations looking ahead, understanding that the future is renewable. The State of California becomes a lightning example of the power and ability of state governments to push for climate action. As of May 2022, California’s demand for energy was 100% matched by renewable energy sourced from a mixed balance of hydro, solar, geothermal and wind and as recently as the 1^st of July 2022, lawmakers in California passed a bill that would force producers to cut down on plastic production by 25% with the money credited to go towards conservation efforts. This is built on the Extended Producer Responsibility model, another green initiative developed by the state’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. Another example of GHG emissions reductions on a more state level is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia to implement a regional cap-and-invest program to reduce these emissions.

As of May 2022, California’s demand for energy was 100% matched by renewable energy.

Therefore, other states, local governments and corporations have a big role to play in the fight for climate action specifically in this case, that of GHG emissions from power plants and their role in climate change and the health of communities. Importantly, citizens are at the positions to ask for these changes, out on the streets and on ballot boxes. As Eric A. Davidson, Professor at the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science states, “the only good news is that we have accumulated excellent science that has identified the problem and the solutions. But we need the political willpower and the policy tools to implement those solutions”.

Meanwhile, the Climate Clock continues to tick.