U.S. Supreme Court hears coal sector complaints

WASHINGTON (AP / RTR / BLOOMBERG) – The U.S. Mining Department has won a decisive victory in a legal battle over the EPA’s authority over the control of carbon emissions from power plants. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing appeals from a group of companies and U.S. states, including West Virginia, which produces coal. This could delay President Joe Biden’s climate move.

States and companies such as Naco Industries and Westmoreland Mining Holdings, with their legal opposition, are trying to avoid imposing emission regulations, as the EPA tried when Barack Obama was president. In 2016, the Supreme Court suspended Obama’s clean energy program and did not implement it.

But now the lower court has given far-sighted powers to the EPA in a judgment, companies and states complain. Critics say this will allow the agency to individually determine which power plants are emitting the most, and the EPA may advise states to do something about this.

Climate Summit

The decision to try the case comes ahead of a new climate summit in Glasgow starting Sunday. One expert points out that the Supreme Court’s intervention, which is dominated by conservative judges, appears to be a setback to Biden’s climate ambitions. The president has promised to halve carbon emissions in the United States by 2030. But while this legal process is pending, it can be very difficult for Biden to come up with new and stricter environmental regulations.

The government had earlier asked the Supreme Court not to engage in the debate. The case is said to be out of date because the EPA has no plans to renovate the old clean power project, according to the government. In Washington, work is underway on new rules, it was stressed.