95bFM Climate expert baffled by US Supreme Court Environmental Protection Agency decision
7 July, 2022
Interview by Emilia Sullivan, adapted by Jack Horsnell
Climate expert Kevin Trenberth, says Supreme Court's ruling is a major blow to reducing the long-lasting effects of the climate crisis. Photo: Canva.
A climate change researcher is baffled by the US Supreme Court's decision to limit the country's Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ability to enforce climate regulations under the Clean Air Act.
The Clean Air Act is the country's primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide.
The court decided that emissions regulations should be determined by Congress and individual states, not federal institutions like the EPA.
Kevin Trenberth, who was involved in the case before it went to the Supreme Court, told 95bFM's The Wire that the ruling is a major blow to reducing the long-lasting effects of the climate crisis.
"It was a very strange ruling in the sense that it seemed to violate previous examples, which you're not supposed to do. They violated precedents."
While the court hasn't completely prevented the EPA from making emissions regulations, Congress has previously rejected the EPA's proposed carbon limiting programmes.
Trenberth said electric companies have generally been moving away from using coal for electricity generation.
"Whatever this Court knows about, they have no clue how to act on climate change. The politicians, staffers and justices need to be listening to the science, but in this case, they violated it."
This decision comes just days after the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v Wade decision, allowing states to ban abortion healthcare.
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