Supreme Court To Halt Obama's Climate Change Plan

The supreme court agreed to block the enforcement of Barack Obama’s clean power plan on Tuesday, raising fears that the centerpiece of his climate-change plan could be overturned.

In a surprise move, the judges put a temporary freeze on the plan until a Washington DC circuit court of appeals hears challenges from a coalition of industry officials and more than two dozen mainly Republican states. Arguments are scheduled for 2 June.

The decision raises immediate doubts about the future of Obama’s climate plan and a historic global agreement to fight climate change reached in Paris last December.

The court’s decision was seen as a sign that opponents of the power plant rules have made a strong argument against the plan.

The rules were the first ever cutting climate pollution from power plants – the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the US.

The plan was a linchpin of Obama’s climate agenda and his efforts to persuade nearly 200 countries to rally around the Paris agreement.

The proposed rules called for reducing carbon emissions from power plants by about one-third by 2030.

Republicans in Congress and some industries had declared the rules a “war on coal”, and warned they would be costly for consumers.

In the aftermath of the court decision, the main coal lobby, Americans for Clean Coal Electricity, said it remained confident that the rules would eventually be overturned.

“We are pleased the supreme court took this unprecedented step to protect the states from further economic harm while the courts are deciding whether the administration’s power plan is unlawful and unconstitutional,” said Mike Duncan, the lobby’s chief executive. “The stay is a signal the supreme court has serious concerns with the power plan. We’re optimistic the power plan will ultimately be rejected.”