Washington, D.C. — Today, in its ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court placed new limits on the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curb carbon pollution from power plants. The decision undermines the EPA’s ability to fight climate change. In response, Christy Goldfuss, senior vice president for Energy and Environment Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
Today, the extremist MAGA Supreme Court majority continued its runaway attack on personal freedoms by going after the very air we breathe and jeopardizing our ability to live on this planet. The ruling undermines the EPA’s ability to address the climate crisis.
This decision is a direct result of Republican attorneys general doing the fossil fuel industry’s bidding. At every turn, Big Oil CEOs have sought to mislead the American public about the dangers of climate change, putting their own sky-high profits over people. We must face the fact that fossil fuel special interests funded the politicians that delivered this unhinged Supreme Court—and today’s ruling. It will have dramatic consequences for our lives, the growing destruction caused by extreme weather, and its impact on vulnerable communities.
Congress must step up and do its job. It’s time for the Senate to urgently pass President Joe Biden’s climate agenda. And if we want to still have a fighting chance of hitting the ambitious climate targets President Biden set at the beginning of his administration, this EPA will need to be bold in using its remaining authority to set stringent standards for pollution reduction. Our collective future depends on it.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected] or 240-899-9436.