Carper Statement on Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. EPA Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which called into question EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector and other industrial sectors under the Clean Air Act.

“As someone who voted for the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, I strongly disagree with the Court’s decision today. Continuing the troubling precedents in recent days, once again ideology trumps reality as this extreme court chips away at EPA’s ability to address climate change. While EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other sources under the Clean Air Act remains the law, the Court’s decision is way out of step with reality. This ruling hampers our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a rapid and cost-effective way, which is bad for our economy and planet.

“While utilities have exceeded the emissions reductions goals called for under the Clean Power Plan, we must do more. The Court seeks to restrict EPA from using flexible and low-cost approaches to address greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Still, I remain resolute in my commitment to passing legislation that reduces greenhouse gas emissions across our economy. Our future depends on it.”

Background

On January 25, 2022, Senator Carper led 192 congressional Democrats—29 in the Senate and 163 in the House—in submitting an amicus brief for this case. The brief supported EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to protect the public from harmful pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and address the climate crisis.