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Defenders in Action: Supreme Court Rules on Global Warming
In one of its most important environmental decisions in years, the Supreme Court recently ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate global warming pollution from vehicles. The ruling is a strong rebuke to the Bush administration, which has maintained it does not have the ability to regulate global warming pollution under the Clean Air Act. Although the court’s decision does not force the EPA to regulate auto emissions, the agency could face further legal action if it fails to do so.
The case came before the high court after a 2003 decision by the EPA not to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from vehicle emissions. Concerned about the impacts that global warming has on wildlife and ecosystems, Defenders and several other conservation organizations filed a brief with the court requesting that the judges force the agency to reconsider its decision.
“An estimated 41 percent of all plant and wildlife species are impacted by climate change, but by acting now we can avoid the worst consequences of global warming,” says Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife. “We’re pleased that the Supreme Court ruling has pulled the bottom out of other lawsuits trying to block the regulation of emissions. It also gives new momentum to congressional efforts to control heat-trapping gases linked to climate change.”
In their 5 to 4 ruling, the justices stated that the EPA itself does not dispute the existence of a connection between man-made gas emissions and global warming. “Judged by any standard,” noted Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, “U.S. motor vehicle emissions make a meaningful contribution to greenhouse gas concentrations.”
