U.S. Supreme Court rules against limit on greenhouse gas emissions

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday (local time) that the administration is not supposed to restrict greenhouse gas emissions, which will inevitably deal a critical blow to President Joe Biden’s diplomatic strategies aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the Supreme Court has recently made a series of controversial decisions such as the one to overturn a landmark ruling that legalized abortion across the nation, confusion and division will only grow nationwide.

Chief Justice John Roberts judged on Thursday that the U.S. Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency a wide range of authorities to limit greenhouse gas emissions from all power stations. He required the EPA to be entrusted clearly and specifically with the legislative body’s authority. This ruling was made on the lawsuit filed by the State of West Virginia against the limit on greenhouse gas emissions in coal-fired power plants put by the Obama administration in 2015.

President Biden issued a statement following the decision, strongly criticizing it as “another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.” This ruling has only cast dark clouds on the administration’s goal to make greenhouse gas emissions zero by 2035. It may also hold back his diplomatic strategies such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which puts special emphasis on clean energy resources and other topics. Exceptionally, the United Nations issued a statement to express concern that the fight against climate change will inevitably see some disruption.

Before this, President Biden supported an exception to the filibuster rule to make sure that a bill to protect abortion rights passes the Senate. He argued that the Senate should pass the bill after changing the rule that requires more than 60 senators to agree to put an end to the filibuster.


weappon@donga.com