Supreme Court allows EPA to implement carbon emission standards despite ongoing appeals case

The fossil fuel industry filed lawsuits with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit requesting the court block the program and the Supreme Court put the EPA's new rule on hold until it was settled in lower court.

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The Supreme Court of the United States sided with the Environmental Protection Agency and denied a request by fossil fuel-fired power plants to block the agency’s new carbon emission standards. In April, the agency released the standards to reduce climate, air, water, and land pollution from the power sector and improve public health.

The fossil fuel industry filed lawsuits with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit requesting the court block the program and the Supreme Court put the EPA’s new rule on hold until it was settled in lower court. But the justices turned down the request from energy companies and other industry groups.

“The Supreme Court’s refusal today to halt EPA’s carbon emission standards for power plants is a victory for our climate and for the health and well-being of our families and communities, particularly those who are most vulnerable to the devastating effects of this pollution,” Holly Bender, Chief Energy Officer at Sierra Club said. “EPA’s safeguards are critical to reducing those emissions and facilitating the transition to a fully clean energy economy.”

According to the Sierra Club, the Supreme Court’s decision “allows implementation of the EPA’s carbon emission standards to proceed while litigation on the merits is ongoing in the lower court.”

The EPA’s finalized rule includes:

  • existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution.  
  • an update to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, cutting emissions standard for toxic metals by 67 percent and a 70 percent reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources. 
  • a reduction in wastewater discharge from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year.
  • a safe management of coal ash especially in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now.

“Today, EPA is proud to make good on the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision to tackle climate change and to protect all communities from pollution in our air, water, and in our neighborhoods,” Michael S. Regan, EPA administrator, said. “By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans.”

The EPA projects that, through 2047, the new standards will reduce the power sector’s carbon emissions by 1.38 billion metric tons, along with reducing the pollution that causes smog or soot by tens to thousands of tons.

“As we continue to witness the impacts that coal and gas plant pollution have on our climate and health, we must do everything possible to reduce emissions, mitigate the harm caused by fossil fuel combustion and, ultimately, end this practice altogether,” Bender said. “We will keep working to defend crucial safeguards like EPA’s power plant rules, and will continue to fight for a world in which a stable climate and clean air are rights, not luxuries.”

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