The US Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a major blow to President Barack Obama by putting on hold federal regulations to curb carbon dioxide emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants, the centerpiece of his administration’s strategy to combat climate change.
The court voted 5-4 along ideological lines to grant a request by 27 states and various companies and business groups to block the administration’s Clean Power Plan, which also mandates a shift to renewable energy away from fossil fuels.
The highly unusual move by the justices means the regulations will not be in effect while a court battle continues over their legality.
The White House on Tuesday night said it disagrees with the court decision but said it expects the rule will survive the legal challenge.
The plan was designed to lower carbon emissions from US power plants by 2030 to 32% below 2005 levels. It is the main tool for the US to meet the emissions reduction target it pledged at UN climate talks in Paris in December.
A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday night that despite the court’s “procedural decision,” the US can deliver those commitments and take “new and additional steps” to lead internationally on climate change.
The Supreme Court’s action casts doubt on the long-term future of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s rule because it increases the chances that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court would take the case after a lower court issues a decision on the legality of the regulations and ultimately would strike it down.
The states, led by coal producer West Virginia and oil producer Texas, and several major business groups in October launched the legal effort seeking to block the Obama administration’s plan. The states said the emissions curbs would have a devastating impact on their economies.
For Obama, executing his domestic and international climate change strategy would be a key legacy accomplishment as he nears the end of his time in office in January 2017.
The court action also means that, with Obama leaving office in January 2017, the next president will have a say on whether to continue defending the regulation.
Before that, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which denied a similar stay request last month, will hear oral arguments in the case on June 2 and decide whether the regulations are lawful.
The brief order from the justices said that the regulations would be on hold until the legal challenge is completed. The court’s five conservatives all voted to block the rule. The order noted that the four liberals would have denied the application.
