WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has decided to uphold a federal regulation aimed at reducing planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants, allowing legal challenges to proceed without any immediate changes to the rule.
Republican states and industry advocates had urged the justices to suspend the regulation, claiming that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overreached by setting standards that are overly demanding.
The regulation mandates that numerous coal-fired power plants either capture 90% of their carbon emissions or cease operations within eight years, although the stipulated deadlines will not be enforced for several years.
The power sector ranks as the second-largest contributor to climate change in the United States. This rule is a critical element of President Joe Biden’s commitment to eradicate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and achieve a fully decarbonized economy by 2050.
Earlier this month, the court maintained two other environmental regulations, despite a trend of more restrictive rulings against such policies in recent years. Notably, in 2022, the Supreme Court curtailed the EPA’s capability to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in a pivotal decision. Additionally, in June, the court stayed the agency’s “good neighbor” rule aimed at reducing air pollution.
A ruling from June that overturned the longstanding Chevron precedent is anticipated to complicate the establishment and enforcement of environmental regulations, as well as limit the actions of federal agencies. This ruling was referenced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in support of the challenge against the coal plant regulation.
An appeals court had already permitted the EPA’s new mandate for power plants to be enacted.
A panel consisting of three judges—two appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and one by Republican President Donald Trump—determined that the states would not face immediate harm since the compliance deadlines would not take effect until 2030 or 2032.
Environmental advocates have argued that the standards set forth are fair, financially viable, and attainable, while firmly within the EPA’s legal duties to manage harmful pollution, including greenhouse gases.
The National Mining Association contends that these regulations jeopardize the reliability of the nation’s power grid by necessitating the early closure of power plants amidst rising electricity demands.
The EPA forecasts that the new rule could deliver up to $370 billion in climate and health benefits, while averting nearly 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon pollution by 2047—the equivalent of eliminating the annual emissions from 328 million gasoline-powered vehicles.
