A Blow to Regulators
Forecast: hot.Credit…Anna Rose Layden for The New York Times
Supreme Court ruling gives leverage to businesses
The Supreme Court yesterday limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate power plant emissions, dealing a significant blow to the Biden administration’s climate change agenda. The ruling is the product of a longstanding campaign by some conservatives to curtail or dismantle the power of the so-called administrative state, the system of agencies that regulate wide areas of the economy. It is already altering the balance of power between businesses and the regulators that oversee them.
The E.P.A. can still regulate emissions, but on a much smaller scale. Writing for the conservative supermajority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the E.P.A. overstepped its bounds by trying to mandate a shift to renewable energy sources. Relying on the “