Supreme Court Delays Climate Control REGS

In an unprecedented action, the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed implementation of the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan regulations. The case is now under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with a hearing set for June 2.

Background

The administration's proposal to regulate coal-fired electricity generating power plants is commonly referred to as the Clean Power Plan (CPP). It seeks to achieve a 32 percent reduction by 2030 through a series of measures placing greater reliance on natural-gas-fired generators and renewables, like wind and solar.

CPP takes a systems-based rather than a source-based approach. In determining the potential for carbon reductions, it takes into account not just the power plants themselves, but the entire electricity system, all the way down to consumers. It would allow states to reduce emissions through a number of measures that take place outside the power plants, including building out renewable energy and