US Supreme Court Blocks Obama Carbon Emissions Plan

US Supreme Court Blocks Obama Carbon Emissions Plan

 

The court voted 5-4 along ideological lines to grant a request by 27 states and various companies and business groups to block the administration's Clean Power Plan, which also mandates a shift to renewable energy away from fossil fuels, Reuters reported.

The highly unusual move by the justices means the regulations will not be in effect while a court battle continues over their legality.

The White House said it disagrees with the court decision but said it expects the rule will survive the legal challenge.

We remain confident that we will prevail on the merits," the White House said, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency will continue to work with states that want to cooperate and that it will continue to take "aggressive steps" to reduce carbon emissions.

The plan was designed to lower carbon emissions from US  power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels. It is the main tool for the United States to meet the emissions reduction target it pledged at U.N. climate talks in Paris in December.

A senior administration official told reporters that despite the court's "procedural decision," the United States can deliver those commitments and take "new and additional steps" to lead internationally on climate change.

The Supreme Court's action casts doubt on the long-term future of the US  Environmental Protection Agency's rule because it increases the chances that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court would take the case after a lower court issues a decision on the legality of the regulations and ultimately would strike it down.