Supreme Court’s Recent Environmental Decisions: A Possible Shift?
The conservative-majority Supreme Court has recently shown a more favorable stance towards environmental regulations, raising questions among analysts about a potential change in the court’s trajectory. Just this month, three noteworthy victories for regulators have emerged, suggesting a possible pivot in judicial attitudes.
One significant development occurred on Wednesday, when the justices declined to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of new restrictions on power-plant emissions while the rule is undergoing challenges in a lower court. This rule mandates that many coal- and gas-fired plants capture as much as 90 percent of their greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2032, a bold step in the fight against climate change.
In addition to this, the court also chose not to intervene in two other emergency applications that challenged EPA regulations related to mercuryāknown for its neurotoxic propertiesāand methane, a gas that significantly contributes to global warming. These decisions represent a notable departure from earlier actions taken by the court.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court blocked the “good neighbor plan,” an EPA initiative designed to curb air pollution that travels across state lines, while the case was still pending in lower courts. This intervention was met with criticism, as many viewed it as an improper use of the court’s emergency powers, sometimes referred to as the shadow docket, due to the lack of detailed reasoning accompanying such decisions.
Richard Lazarus, a prominent environmental law professor at Harvard University, remarked that Wednesday’s ruling āmay well be a major pivot pointā for the court, suggesting a departure from the path it has followed for the past eight years. Notably, this trajectory included the court’s earlier decision to block President Barack Obamaās Clean Power Plan, which sought to regulate power plant emissionsāmarking the first time the Supreme Court intervened to block an EPA air pollution regulation before it had been fully examined by a lower court.
How Does Your State Make Electricity?
As these legal battles unfold, itās essential to recognize the significant shifts in how electricity is generated across the United States. Each state has its own distinct story, reflecting a variety of energy sources and policies that contribute to the national energy landscape.