WASHINGTON, Feb 10, (APP/AFP): The US Supreme Court on Tuesday put on hold a sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fueled power plants, dealing a significant blow to President Barack Obama’s efforts to rein in climate change.
A coalition of 27 US states — most of them run by Obama’s Republican
adversaries — is suing in a lower court to halt Obama’s Clean Power Plan, and petitioned the Supreme Court to suspend its implementation until the case is resolved.
The White House said it was disappointed in the ruling, but convinced the ambitious plan to slash US emissions was based on a strong legal foundation, and would prevail.
“We disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the Clean Power Plan while litigation proceeds,” spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement issued after the five-to-four ruling.
“We remain confident that we will prevail on the merits.”
Tuesday’s ruling, backed by five of the nine Supreme Court justices, halts the rollout of rules that require the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions to be slashed by at least 32 percent compared to 2005 levels by the year 2030.
The far-reaching regulations issued last year by the Environmental
Protection Agency are central to Obama’s drive to reduce overall US greenhouse gas emissions.
“Even while the litigation proceeds, EPA has indicated it will work with states that choose to continue plan development,” Earnest said.
California’s Democratic Governor Jerry Brown — who is part of a coalition of states defending the emissions plan — said as much, as he accused the justices of acting “tone-deaf” faced with the threat of “irreversible climate change.”
“This arbitrary roadblock does incalculable damage and undermines America’s climate leadership,” he said in a statement.
“But make no mistake, this won’t stop California from continuing to do its part under the Clean Power Plan.”