The Supreme Court today ruled in West Virginia v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacked the authority to issue a broad regulation to address greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by shifting the source of electricity generation from coal and natural gas to renewables. In a new insight, Director of Regulatory Policy Daniel Bosch explains the Court’s decision and its implications for climate change regulation—as well as for the Biden Administration’s climate change agenda.

Key points:

• The Court found that the EPA’s regulation was of major significance, departed dramatically from how EPA has typically interpreted the Clean Air Act, and that the agency would need clearer congressional authority.
• The decision sends the Biden Administration back to the drawing board for a regulatory approach to limit such emissions.
• The ruling put the onus on Congress to develop a comprehensive climate change policy.

Read the analysis