Climate change experts were quick to denounce the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency had overstepped its authority when it issued regulations to limit power plant emissions. The 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. EPA held that the EPA cannot set industrywide pollution standards that effectively require electric utilities to switch from coal to cleaner energy sources. But it did not overturn the agency’s authority to set pollution limits based on the best available pollution control technology at coal-fired power plants. Many environmental advocates think that the courts will allow the EPA to mandate the use of carbon capture and storage technology to lower emissions provided that EPA can argue that it is sufficiently affordable and accessible. While the Court’s ruling disallowed a regulation that explicitly requires utilities to move away from coal, it did not say that regulations having that effect are off the table.
By Ben Adler, YahooNews. July 6, 2022.
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