On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a new ruling on West Virginia v. EPA. The decision potentially rolls back the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants and limits the power of federal agencies. However, UCLA experts claim the ruling in West Virginia v. EPA does not strip the Environmental Protection Agency of all of its power to regulate greenhouse gases, meaning the EPA still holds critical power. In addition, California’s landmark emission regulations remain in effect despite this ruling. 

While this news may sound troublesome, this move could have been much worse given the nature of the court according to Co-Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, Cara Horowitz. “This is a power grab by the court. The way the ruling aggregates power to the court means that the court can and probably will strike down other administrative regulations and actions where, in the court’s view, those regulations are too big, too impactful to the economy, and where Congress hasn’t been clear enough in authorizing the agency to do what it’s trying to do.” said Horowitz.  

UCLA Law professor Blake Emerson also spoke on the matter, suggesting the ruling in West Virginia v. EPA “constrains the hands of government officials who are supposed protect the public interest against harms and even crises, whether these have to do with the environment, health or economic fairness. It will make government agencies more cautious, and lead them to take milder, potentially less-effective steps.” 

Read more about the West Virginia v. EPA ruling at UCLA Newsroom. 

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