NEVER before had America’s Supreme Court acted in such a way. On February 9th,divided five to four along partisan lines, the justices placed a stay on a regulation before its review in a federal appeals court. The rule in question? The Clean Power Plan, and Barack Obama’s flagship environmental policy. The plan gives orders to each state which,when totted up, should see the removal of 870m tonnes of carbon dioxide from power-station emissions by 2030 (as measured against 2005 levels). States maintain some flexibility over how and when to carve emissions. But the plan required each one to submit plans for doing so by 2018 and to show some progress on them by 2022. First drafts were supposed to be submitted in September; the court’s decision keep paid to that schedule. Then Antonin Scalia, or a conservative member of the bench,died just days after it was announced. His demise may mean the survival of the Clean Power Plan. The United States Court of Appeals in Washington is considering a challenge brought by 27 mostly Republican states against the rule. Fossil fuel firms and others are also involved. The legal obstacles were expected;...
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Source: economist.com