Supreme Court Denies Requests to Block Climate Pollution Standards for Power Plants

“The Supreme Court today rejected cynical requests to use its shadow docket to block EPA protections that will reduce the power plant climate pollution that threatens millions of people.

“People across America are suffering through intensifying storms and other disasters because of climate change. EPA – as specifically required by Congress – set reasonable and achievable standards to reduce the pollution that causes climate change from one of its largest sources, fossil fuel-burning power plants. Power plants have a wide variety of options to comply with the standards – options that are pollution-free, reliable, and cost-effective. The good news is that the clean solutions are the lowest-cost solutions.

“When judges on the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, including a former senior Trump White House official, unanimously rejected requests for an emergency stay of EPA’s commonsense safeguards, opponents asked the Supreme Court to rule in their favor from its shadow docket – before any court could fully hear the case and weigh all the evidence. Today, the Supreme Court rejected that end run around our country’s bedrock legal processes. 

"EPA's protections will help address dangerous pollution, save people money, and create high quality jobs.”

            - Vickie Patton – General Counsel of Environmental Defense Fund 

Related: Supreme Court Will Consider Decisions about Interstate Air Pollution Protections from Coal-Fired Power Plants