Paul Bledsoe, Energy and Climate Fellow for the Progressive Policy Institute, released the following statement in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling limiting the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants:
“The Supreme Court decision today significantly undermines the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection Agency and Biden Administration to limit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. Yet the Court ignores the fact that climate change increasingly represents a clear and present danger to American public safety, our economy and national security, and should be addressed by all reasonable means.
“The ruling means Congress must act, once and for all, to provide certainty regarding U.S. and global climate protection so it is never again subject to the whims of a radical right-wing court.
“For three decades, Republicans have opposed all serious action, while Democrats have failed to create the broad-based political coalition needed to pass comprehensive climate legislation through Congress.
“In response to previous failures, the Biden Administration and Democrats in Congress have created new clean energy tax incentives and a positive agenda of economic opportunities for both workers and consumers.
“This approach is not about demonizing fossil fuels we will need for years or feeding a culture war. Instead, these policies would jumpstart innovation and our energy economy, creating millions of jobs. And these policies are very popular with Americans, since they do not involve politically challenged energy taxes, and will in fact reduce long-term consumer energy prices.
“This approach has already passed the House, and is reflected in legislation pending in the Senate. The Senate should adopt these measures with all deliberate speed to protect the American people from the increasing prospect of climate calamity, and prevent the radical right from endangering our nation and the world.”
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Media Contact: Tommy Kaelin; tkaelin@ppionline.org