But a bipartisan request of 27 states, led by West Virginia and Texas, argued that the EPA exceeded its authority by double regulating coal-fired power plants.
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Jody Freeman, a Harvard law professor and former environmental legal counsel to the Obama administration, told the New York Times that the ruling suggests a “high degree” of skepticism toward the CPP from five justices on the court.
The court’s four liberal voices contested the decision to halt the emission rules, which would require the power sector’s carbon dioxide emissions to be slashed by at least 32 percent compared to 2005 levels by the year 2030.
Dealing a major blow to President Obama’s climate change agenda, the Supreme Court on Tuesday placed a temporary hold on the Clean Power Plan Tuesday until all legal proceedings surrounding it have concluded.
It provides the United States with the means to achieve the emissions reduction target that it had agreed upon during the Paris climate summit in December 2015.
The appeals court will hear oral arguments on 2 June before deciding whether the regulations are lawful.
Supporters disagreed with the estimates and said failing to tackle climate change would harm the economy, public health and environment.
“We remain confident that we will prevail on the merits”, the White House said, adding that the EPA will continue to work with states that want to cooperate.
Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, celebrated the Supreme Court’s action. States had until 6 September to submit those plans to EPA, although they could also apply for a two-year extension.
The court ruled on Tuesday the president’s Clean Power Plan could not go ahead until legal challenges had been resolved. “If there was ever a Supreme Court decision that looked backwards instead of towards the future, this was it”, said Jamie Henn of the environmental group 350.org. They argued that power plants will have to spend billions of dollars to begin complying with a rule that may end up being overturned.
President Barack Obama’s plans to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from US power plants have been stalled by the US Supreme Court.
Republican Attorney General Tim Fox joined Montana to a 28-state lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan shortly after it was issued in August.
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West Virginia’s Attorney General Patrick Morrisey called the high court’s action a “great victory”.
