West Virginia v. EPA: It’s Dé·jà Vu All Over Again
- The decision in West Virginia v. EPA is as important for what it doesn’t say as for what it does.
- Although the Supreme Court left in tack many of EPA’s regulatory powers, it limited its regulatory reach on existing stationary sources of greenhouse gases.
- Without the need to win over “swing” justices, the conservative wing of the US Supreme Court has little incentive to moderate its positions or embrace an incremental approach to legal change, much less look for ways to engage with the other side or avoid reaching divisive questions.
- The decision in West Virginia heightens the importance of state and local governments in combatting climate change.