Obama says climate rule on ‘strong legal footing’

“It is no surprise that the suit over the Clean Power Plan was brought by proponents of the coal industry”.

President Barack Obama’s push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants – won’t be implemented until after a lawsuit from 27 states, including Oklahoma, is resolved.

Opponents of the plan had reason to be buoyed by the Supreme Court’s unusual intervention in part because of increasing evidence the conservative majority are skeptical of the Obama administration’s environmental regulations.

Gov. Peter Shumlin issued the following statement after the Supreme Court put on hold the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan while litigation against the plan proceeds. He says fighting climate change is going to be “an enormous generational challenge”. “President Obama is attempting to change how our nation produces energy in the name of regulating carbon dioxide emissions, which has nothing to do with cutting smog or achieving cleaner air”. At the very least, the move delays progress toward emissions cuts across the country and undermines USA credibility with the Paris climate agreement still unsigned by world leaders.

The Supreme Court’s decision reinforces the position Kentucky and the other 25 petitioning states have regarding the CPP.

The long-term extension of the tax credits for renewable energy previous year will continue to provide momentum that will transition the power sector toward cleaner sources of energy, Schultz said. The Court’s decision to freeze these illegal climate regulations is a victory in our efforts to save our coal jobs and protect Kentucky families from skyrocketing energy prices. They also say the plan would constrain the constitutional sovereignty of states to make any rules for industries operating inside their boundaries. New Mexico is well on our way to complying with the EPA’s plan based on decisions and commitments that have already been made, and I believe we should continue on that path.

Environmental groups from the Natural Resources Defense Council to the Sierra Club decried the stay and expressed confidence the plan would eventually be approved by the courts.

The unsigned, one-page order blocks the rules from taking effect while the legal fight plays out in the appeals court and during any further appeal to the Supreme Court, a process that easily could extend into 2017.