Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called the Supreme Court’s decision to halt the Obama administration’s carbon emissions reduction plan “stunning” and “short-sighted.”
The Nevada Democrat said the high court’s surprise 5-4 ruling Tuesday night shows Congress should take the lead on passing legislation to counter climate change.
“Climate-denying Republicans in the House and Senate might applaud this decision, but their refusal to protect Americans from the impacts of climate change is the real loss for our country,” Reid said.
The Obama administration’s rules governing carbon emissions are “legally sound,” Reid said, pointing to the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to address carbon pollution because of its danger to human health.
The court stayed the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which requires states to cut greenhouse gas emissions one-third by 2030, until the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the challenge to the regulation by 29 states and dozens of industry groups, scheduled for June. The states and businesses say the EPA plan is a major overreach of the EPA’s legal authority. Critics also say the EPA plan will result in the premature closure of coal power plants, resulting in higher electricity costs and risks of power outages.
“This short-sighted decision by the court’s five conservative justices is an unfortunate setback,” Reid said. “It unnecessarily puts into question a major part of our country’s efforts to address climate change and protect our environment.”
