A federal appeals court has denied a request to pause a federal regulation aimed at reducing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. The regulation will remain in force while the legal challenge continues. The court rejected the request from a coalition of attorneys general and fossil fuel industry groups led by West Virginia.
The judges stated that the groups had not shown they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim, and they failed to prove immediate harm as the compliance deadlines are not until 2030 or 2032. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule seeks to cut carbon emissions in existing coal-fired plants and new natural gas plants.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan mentioned that the rule may lead to some coal retirements, as it aims to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035. The attorneys general and industry groups argued that the rule was unachievable and posed a threat to the power grid’s reliability, exceeding EPA’s authority without congressional approval.
The EPA projects that the rule will yield significant benefits in reducing carbon pollution and improving public health without disrupting the delivery of reliable electricity. The National Mining Association, joining the legal challenges, plans to request an emergency stay from the Supreme Court to oppose the rule. The EPA’s efforts to dismantle our essential dispatchable generating capacity with unworkable mandates come at a time when electricity demand is on the rise and barriers to constructing new generating capacity and infrastructure are increasing. This dangerous path is leading us towards a crisis of the EPA’s own making.
Environmental groups have applauded a recent court ruling that upheld the EPA’s legal obligation to regulate carbon pollution. According to Vickie Patton of the Environmental Defense Fund, Americans are already feeling the impacts of climate pollution through heat waves, storms, flooding, and wildfires. The court’s decision reinforces the EPA’s duty, mandated by Congress, to control harmful climate pollution.
Moving forward, the case will be further reviewed on its merits, with the court instructing the involved parties to submit briefs outlining proposed formats and schedules within the next 14 days.
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