Hi John,

The Supreme Court just ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency can’t enforce environmental protections. This means your voice just got that much more important.

In a 6-3 decision this morning, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of West Virginia in West Virginia vs. EPA, which means the Environmental Protection Agency will no longer have power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants without input from Congress. 

Power plants are the second-largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S, and are mostly owned and operated by powerful fossil fuel interests. Curbing their emissions is essential if we’re going to meet our climate goals and prevent catastrophic change. This ruling severely limits the federal government’s capacity to protect public health and the environment — and take meaningful action to mitigate climate change. 

Under the West Virginia v. EPA decision, anytime a federal agency takes on something new and economically significant — like tackling climate change — the regulation is presumed invalid unless Congress has given explicit authorization. While the Environmental Protection Agency will still be able to create and set rules, the agency won’t be able to enforce those rules or hold bad actors accountable — unless Congress acts. 

Yesterday's ruling will not only limit our ability to tackle the climate crisis, but could also lead to a dangerous path of overturning further federal agency regulations on issues like health care and civil rights. It also ensures that the biggest polluters will get off the hook while the rest of us pay the cost. Not only that — but communities of color will continue to suffer the most severe impacts from climate change. This is a ruling against climate justice. 

The impacts of this decision are far-reaching, and patterns of reversing environmental protection measures have not run their course. Now is the time for us to raise our voices, and tell the federal government that pollution has no place in our communities. 

Take action now and tell Congress to pass bold measures that protect our communities and our planet.

Sign to Demand Action NowFor our planet,
Jessie Buendia
VP, Sustainability & National Director, Green For All