On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with conservatives seeking to delay the enforcement of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan until legal challenges are resolved. The plan calls for a decrease in carbon emissions by 2030, and many states have already begun forming compliance plans to send to the Environmental Protection Agency ahead of the regulations’ implementation.
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Fitch noted that the Supreme Court’s ruling to block carbon pollution regulations creates uncertainty for the electricity sector.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘The Supreme Court struck down the clean power plant rule.’ That’s not true”.
“The Supreme Court’s almost unprecedented but welcome action yesterday underscores what Americans have been saying all along – the President’s regulatory overreach is too costly, too invasive, and violates constitutional separation of powers”, Wicker said.
However, 27 mostly Republican-led states, along with lobby groups for the coal and utilities industries, launched a legal challenge, arguing that Obama’s initiative violates individual states’ rights. For Obama, executing his domestic and worldwide climate change strategy would be a key legacy accomplishment as he nears the end of his time in office in January 2017.
The plan set separate carbon reduction targets for each state, leaving them in control of exactly how they would meet these goals. “I also urge the administration to continue to take aggressive steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the country so we can ensure our children and grandchildren can live in healthier and safer communities”. Vickie Patton, a lawyer for Environmental Defense Fund stated that the Clean Power Plan has been clear in strengthening the nations clean air laws which in turn has strong evidences regarding the ill effects of using conventional power source.
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The Obama administration did not consult these states and try to find some common ground, a reasonable point between concern for the environment and paychecks.
