The next SCOTUS setback for a Biden climate rule?

Presented by the Center for Western Priorities: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jul 25, 2024 View in browser   By Joel Kirkland Presented by  The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington on Feb. 2. | Francis Chung/POLITICO The 2015 regulation that would have shaped Barack Obama’s climate legacy met its ultimate end at the Supreme Court two years ago. It must feel like déjà vu for President Joe Biden. A similar band of Republican attorneys general and utilities petitioned the court Tuesday to jump into the fray again — this time to shelve Biden’s effort at regulating carbon emissions from the power sector until it runs the maze of judicial review. Obama and Biden were aiming at the same goal of putting teeth behind the transition to cleaner energy, but the two rules are significantly different, Niina H. Farah writes. An immediate stay of the Biden rule under the court’s emergency “shadow docket” isn’t as likely in this case as when justices put the Obama rule on ice and then killed it later. "For the Supreme Court to grant a stay would be shocking, and truly ominous," Michael Gerrard, faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, said of Biden's rule. Under the latest Environmental Protection Agency rule, the nation’s shrinking fleet of coal-burning power generators are required over the next decade to capture their carbon emissions or shut down. The Obama rule sought to shift electricity generation from coal to zero-carbon technology such as wind and solar power. The so-called Clean Power Plan gave states broad parameters for how to meet EPA’s pollution targets. The Biden rule, on the other hand, is modeled more closely on the traditional regulatory approach under the Clean Air Act, which requires power plants to use the best available technology to cut dangerous pollutants. ‘Immediate harm’ From the agency’s vantage point, carbon capture technology has been adequately demonstrated as viable in the real world. But challengers of the Biden rule, including the powerful Edison Electric Institute, say EPA is assuming too much about the technology’s availability. “A Supreme Court stay is necessary to prevent immediate harm to the nation’s electric grid and the American economy,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The Supreme Court has become much more willing to intervene in cases using the so-called shadow docket — the emergency docket traditionally reserved for non-divisive procedural matters that need to be settled quickly. Just last month, the justices issued a 5-4 decision to block EPA limits on smog-forming pollution that crosses state lines under its "good neighbor" rule. The case was brought to the justices through the court's shadow docket. Still, legal observers said the Biden rule may not grab the high court's attention in the same way the Clean Power Plan did.   It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Joel Kirkland. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jkirkland@eenews.net.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities: Outdoor Voters – 3 million strong in the West – want to see progress. Outdoor Voters care about conserving the public lands they cherish for future generations. They want to vote for leaders who will protect more outdoor spaces as national monuments and parks. For Outdoor Voters, a candidate’s position on conservation plays an important role in how they cast their ballots. Learn more about the issues Outdoor Voters in the West care about at outdoorvoter.org.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Alex Guillén breaks down Vice President Kamala Harris' environmental justice resume and why she thinks it will help her defeat former President Donald Trump in November.   Live briefings, policy trackers, and procedural, industry, and people intelligence from POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy this election cycle. Secure your seat.      Power Centers Vice President Kamala Harris has faced political attacks for advancing climate programs based on equity. | Darron Cummings/AP Doubling down Vice President Kamala Harris has long advocated for helping marginalized communities struggling with pollution. Now, she's emphasizing that environmental justice record in her presidential campaign. As Kevin Bogardus writes today, champions for underserved communities hope Harris would build on the Biden administration's equity efforts if she were elected president. But Republicans are also already waging racial attacks against Harris, and in the past, some GOP politicians have blasted the vice president for her remarks about equity, write Thomas Frank, Jean Chemnick and Avery Ellfeldt. The attacks on Harris fit a pattern for Black women, said Chauncia Willis, CEO of the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management. “Kamala Harris should expect to be attacked for it,” Willis said of the vice president’s push for climate equity. “She was born a target for Republicans. Everything that she embodies is the antithesis of what the Rick Scotts of the world would like to see." Two bills, billions apart The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a package today that would boost funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, write Michael Doyle and Kevin Bogardus. EPA would see its funding rise slightly, to $9.29 billion, including increases for state and local air quality regulators. Interior's spending would increase to $15.8 billion. "I think we have struck the right balance on energy development, parks, conservation and the arts, while also meeting wildland fire and tribal trust responsibilities,” said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, ranking member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. The committee vote comes less than a day after the Republican-controlled House passed a tighter-fisted and rider-laden version of the Interior-Environment appropriations bill. The House bill would cut EPA funding by 20 percent, while shaving $42 million from Interior spending. Both measures represent posturing heading into negotiations between the chambers, which aren’t set to start until after the November election, write Alex Guillén, Ben Lefebvre and Annie Snider.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities:   In Other News Vicious circle: Dried out lakes are a significant source of planet-warming emissions, with the Great Salt Lake releasing 4.1 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2020. Flight disruption: Climate activists breached security fences today at Frankfurt Airport, prompting officials to cancel 270 flights at Germany's busiest airport.   The space economy is already woven into our lives in ways we don't always appreciate, creating a global backbone for communications, media, data, science and defense. It's also becoming an increasingly competitive zone among nations - and a venue for complex and important public-private partnerships. Join POLITICO on July 30 for a conversation about what Washington needs to understand is at stake – which sectors of the global economy see their growth arc in space, and what the role of government leaders is in both growing and regulating the explosion of orbital ideas. REGISTER HERE.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. A ferry boat departs the waterfront as Seattle's 175-foot Great Wheel and the Port of Seattle are seen in 2022. | John Moore/Getty Images The Department of Energy has launched its second hydrogen hub, signing a multistate deal for a $1 billion network in the Pacific Northwest. The watchdog for the nation's largest power market is pushing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine if customers are overpaying for energy efficiency programs. A Connecticut court rejected an oil industry bid to dismiss the state's climate liability case, in a win for local governments suing oil and gas majors over planet-warming emissions.   A message from the Center for Western Priorities: There’s a powerful and growing voting bloc in the West: Outdoor Voters. What makes an outdoor voter? They live in states like Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Montana and are active in the West's outdoor lifestyle. They are reliable voters who pay attention to conservation issues like protecting public lands from oil and gas development, designating new national monuments, and maintaining outdoor access for recreation and enjoyment. Most importantly, a candidate’s position on conservation issues plays a decisive role in who they will vote for in this year’s elections. Candidates who want to win competitive races in the West need to earn Outdoor Voter support. Learn more about the issues that drive Outdoor Voters to the polls at outdoorvoter.org.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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