The Supreme Court heard opening arguments on Monday, Feb. 28 pertaining to a climate change case that could change the scope and capacity of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce emissions regulations at the federal level.
While the regulation in question was never actually passed into a law, it is now being challenged at this time. This case could impact Texas.
The emissions regulations in question are greenhouse gas emissions.
“If they’re successful, it would have important practical limits on how aggressive EPA regulations could be,” David Adelman, a law professor at the University of Texas, said. “It seems like the AGs want to preempt any more aggressive regulation the Biden administration might contemplate.”
Some public officials are concerned about these regulations.
“People talk about the urgency (of climate change),” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said. “Whatever happens, you want to have the confidence of the American people that their elected representatives stood up and made a decision. It’s not supposed to be that easy to just pass laws on the most controversial topics of the day.”
Conversely, environmentalists are worried about what could happen if the regulations are struck down.
“It used to be if there was a big question (about executive authority), the Supreme Court would decide," Kirti Datla, an attorney with the environmental group Earth Justice, said. “Now they seem to be saying when Congress wants to allow agencies to do big things, Congress needs to be very clear about that — whatever ‘that’ means.”
Potential energy sanctions against Russia are another factor complicating this debate.
“Energy sanctions are certainly on the table,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC’s “This Week” on Feb. 27. “We have not taken those off, but we also want to do that and make sure we’re minimizing the impact on the global marketplace and do it in a united way.”
The challenge comes against a rule created by the Obama administration that made power plants reduce emissions. Though it never went into effect during Obama's administration due to a 2016 stay by the Supreme Court, and former President Trump repealed the rule, attorneys general want a definitive ruling. This group is headed by Morrisey and Texas AG Ken Paxton.
Tighter climate regulation would create higher fees for the oil and gas industry, which is particularly influential in Texas. The Clean Air Act was last updated in 1990 gave the EPA the right to implement climate policies that the executive branch has attempted to utilize during both the Obama and Biden administrations, according to the Houston Chronicle.
