US Supreme Court Places Limits on Environmental Agency

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The U.S. Supreme¹ Court on Thursday established limits on the federal government's power to reduce carbon emissions² from power plants.

The ruling immediately affects President Joe Biden's plans to deal with climate change by cutting the release of carbon gases into the atmosphere. It also raises new legal questions about government agencies' power to set rules and regulations.

Scientists say greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat and cause the atmosphere to warm.

The court's six-to-three ruling restricted the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and gas-fueled electricity plants under the Clean Air Act anti-pollution law. The court's six conservatives were in the majority decision with the three liberals disagreeing.

With Thursday's ruling, the high court overturned a lower court decision in 2021 that had struck down former President Donald Trump's Affordable³ Clean Energy rule. That regulation, which the Biden administration has said it does not want to keep, would set limits on the EPA's power to regulate emissions from existing power plants.

The Biden administration aims to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of 2030. It says it wants to have an emissions-free power industry by 2035. Power plants produce about 30 percent of carbon dioxide released in the U.S.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the court. He wrote that the Clean Air Act does not give the EPA the power to place limits on emissions in the way it proposed. He said Congress must speak clearly on this subject.

"A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting⁴ pursuant to a clear delegation⁵ from that representative body," he wrote.

Conservative activists⁶ have long supported measures to reduce agency power in what some called a "war on the administrative⁷ state." They want lawmakers in Congress to authorize⁸ action on issues of broad importance and societal impact.

In January, the conservative justices also blocked the Biden administration's vaccine⁹ policy for large businesses meant to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her dissent¹⁰, Justice Elena Kagan said the majority's decision takes away the power that Congress gave the agency to deal with "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time."

Kagan added that the majority has a clear goal: "Prevent agencies from doing important work, even though that is what Congress directed."

Complicated issues

The justices heard arguments in the case on February 28. That was the same day that a United Nations report warned that the effects of climate change are about to get much worse. It said the warming of the earth would likely make people sicker and hungrier in the coming years.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat¹¹, criticized the court's ruling. He called it "dangerously misguided and abhorrent¹²."

Schumer said, like the court's ruling on guns and abortions¹³, Thursday's decision "will cause more needless deaths - in this instance because of more pollution that will exacerbate¹⁴ the climate crisis and make our air and water less clean and safe."

Senator Kevin Cramer, a Republican, praised the decision. He said the ruling restates that "Congress never intended the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions for the states."

The decision was issued on the final day of rulings for the court's current term. The day also marked the swearing-in of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African-American woman on the Supreme Court.

Words in This Story

regulation –n. (usually pl.) an official rule or law that says how something should be done

magnitude –n. size, extent or importance

consequence –n. importance, value

pursuant to –prep. in a way that agrees with or follows something

authorize –v. to give legal or official approval

dissent –n. to publicly disagree with an official opinion, decision, or set of beliefs

exacerbate –v. to make a situation worse than it already is

intend –v. to have something in mind as a purpose or goal

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 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。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

8 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

10 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

13 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

14 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。