美国国家公共电台 NPR--Has the Supreme Court tied the Biden administration's hands on climate change?

Has the Supreme¹ Court tied the Biden administration's hands on climate change?

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate advisor³, about the Supreme Court's ruling that limits the EPA's ability to set carbon-emission⁴ limits.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Biden White House now has a significantly narrower path to slowing climate change. In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to set carbon emission limits specifically for existing power plants. The high court's conservatives say such efforts with vast economic and political impacts have to come from Congress. So where does the court's ruling leave the Biden administration? Gina McCarthy is a former EPA administrator⁵ and is now the White House national climate adviser⁶, and she joins us now. Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

GINA MCCARTHY: Thanks for having me, Rachel. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Do you see it this way? Has the court tied your hands on climate change?

MCCARTHY: No, the court hasn't tied our hands on climate change. But the decision they made was a narrow one, but it sent some clear signals about where this Supreme Court is heading. And after Roe⁷ v. Wade⁸, it's not surprising, is it? You know, basically the way I look at it is that, you know, it was a very disappointing decision, but it did not strip away the ability of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. For once, we've gone past the questioning of whether climate change is real, which is always good news. But it also sent, you know, I think, a clear signal that they're going to be looking at regulation with an eye towards turning our country backwards⁹ instead of allowing us to move forward where the world is heading, which is to address climate change and to make sure that we're moving as fast and as far as we can on our clean energy transition.

MARTIN: When he took office, President Biden pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2030. Can you still make good on that promise?

MCCARTHY: Sure. We're going to make good on that progress. Look, the Supreme Court took away our ability under 111 to do work without additional burden.

MARTIN: Explain what 111 is.

MCCARTHY: But EPA has - I'm sorry, that's the section of the Clean Air Act. But it did not take away EPA's ability to regulate. And more broadly, people should understand that this president didn't come into office thinking that EPA was the sole way in which we could move forward on climate change. He made this effort a whole of government effort. He recognized that special interests for decades have been funding fossil - funded by fossil fuel companies to really wage a long-term campaign to strip away - and they have for decades - all these environmental protections that keep our water and our air clean. And this should not have been unexpected to see a decision like this. But that's why the president said we're not just going to rely on EPA. We're going to have a whole of government approach.

MARTIN: What does that look like?

MCCARTHY: And we're not just going to regulate. We're going to invest. And that's what's happening. It looks like the entire administration being part of this effort. You know, we are leaving no stone unturned to look at our ability to transfer and to invest in a clean energy future. And that looks like working with the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, NOAA and other agencies to make sure that offshore¹⁰ wind can thrive. And when you do that, offshore wind provides more than $2.2 billion in private investment to move offshore wind. And it's moving.

MARTIN: So the goal is not to...

MCCARTHY: The president just...

MARTIN: You can't - the focus is now on alternative energy sources, less on reducing carbon emissions¹¹. Is that what I hear you saying?

MCCARTHY: Well, what happens is when you move towards clean energy, you actually in - by nature and by law, you are shifting all of the investments to clean energy. I'm not suggesting...

MARTIN: So it's incentives¹² instead of punitive¹³ measures through regulation.

MCCARTHY: Well, there's two ways to do it. You move forward in the direction you want to head, and you make sure you don't slide backwards. This was a decision which limited our ability to reduce pollution under that section of the Clean Air Act, and it literally¹⁴ threatens to use the same technique in others. In that we have to be disappointed in that and concerned. And - but that doesn't mean EPA won't regulate pollution. It doesn't mean that EPA isn't standing¹⁵ ready right now to move forward with regulations that will drive down greenhouse gas pollutions, whether we do it directly or through other measures like tackling other pollutants¹⁶ that always are married with greenhouse gases when they're emitted. But - and we're certainly going after methane¹⁷ and HFCs directly, which are major superpollutants.

We have plans in place. We have resources to spend. We're moving forward with the bipartisan infrastructural¹⁸ investments to actually move forward and advance our efforts on clean water, getting lead out of the water system. So there's lots of things going on. The Supreme Court narrowed our ability to get that done, but it didn't take away our ability both to reduce pollution that's causing greenhouse gas emissions and it in no way precluded¹⁹ us from looking at how we move forward on the transition to clean energy. So it's not one or the other, Rachel. It has to be both. We have to get rid of the old, and we have to move forward to the future. It's offshore wind.

MARTIN: Gina McCarthy.

MCCARTHY: It's offshore wind. It's solar. It's lots of great opportunities ahead for good jobs...

MARTIN: We'll have to leave it there.

MCCARTHY: ...And lower costs for families.

MARTIN: We appreciate your time.

MCCARTHY: Thanks so much, Rachel.

MARTIN: Gina McCarthy, White House national climate adviser, thanks.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

4 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

6 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

7 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

8 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

9 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

10 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

11 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

12 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

14 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

15 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

16 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

17 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

18 infrastructural   

adj.基础结构的基础设施的

参考例句：

• Must increase the investment dynamics unceasingly, strengthens the countryside infrastructural facilities. 要不断加大投入力度，加强农村基础设施建设。 来自互联网
• In the 1980s, India started with some infrastructural advantages over China. 1980年代，印度在某些基础设施方面优于中国。 来自互联网

19 precluded   

v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通

参考例句：

• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor. 因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bad weather precluded me from attending the meeting. 恶劣的天气使我不能出席会议。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》