In late May and early June 2021, five responses and briefs were filed in support of certiorari petitions seeking review of the D.C. Circuit’s January <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/wp-content/uploads/case-documents/2021/20210119_docket-19-1140_opinion.pdf">opinion</a> vacating EPA’s repeal and replacement of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan regulations for controlling carbon emissions from existing power plants. The D.C. Circuit held that the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule) rested on an erroneous interpretation of the Clean Air Act that barred EPA from considering measures beyond those that apply at and to an individual source. Three of  the responses and briefs supporting certiorari were filed by parties that intervened to defend the ACE Rule in the D.C. Circuit: National Mining Association; Basin Electric Power Cooperative, a not-for-profit regional wholesale electric generation and transmission cooperative; and America’s Power, a trade association comprising companies involved in the production of electricity from coal. In addition, two amicus briefs were filed, one by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the other by New England Legal Foundation, a nonprofit law firm with a mission of “promoting balanced economic growth in New England and the nation, protecting the free-enterprise system, and defending individual economic rights and the rights of private property.” The federal government’s response is due by July 6.

Challenge to final rule repealing the Clean Power Plan and replacing it with the Affordable Clean Energy rule.

West Virginia v. EPA

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Parties Filed Briefs Supporting Supreme Court Review of D.C. Circuit Decision on Affordable Clean Energy Rule

Filed

United States of America

District of Columbia

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Kinetic energy of airflow transformed into useful energy, mostly electrical energy.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Parties Filed Briefs Supporting Supreme Court Review of D.C. Circuit Decision on Affordable Clean Energy Rule

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance