In the case, 12 states, three cities and several environmental groups challenged the agency’s refusal to consider greenhouse gasses as pollutants under the Clean Air Act and regulate them accordingly.
In the judgement, delivered by Justice Stevens, the court determined whether the EPA has the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles; and if so, whether its stated reasons for refusing to do so are consistent with the statute. The Court ruled that the EPA had offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change, holding that the Agency must ground its reasons for action or inaction.
Jeff Bingaman, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the decision leaves no doubt that the federal government has the authority and duty to act to address global warming. Philip Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, a plaintiff in the case commented: “This is likely to increase pressure on Congress to act quickly on global warming. Key industries — particularly utilities and automakers — now face the prospect that the next president can impose his or her own global warming emissions reduction program under the Clean Air Act if Congress doesn’t write a new law.”
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