UN Calls SCOTUS Climate Ruling ‘a Setback In Fight Against Climate Change’

A spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General called the US Supreme Court ruling limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority “a setback in our fight against climate change.”

“Decisions like today’s in the US or any other major emitting economy make it harder to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for a healthy, livable planet, especially as we need to accelerate the phase-out of coal and the transition to renewable energies,” said Stephane Dujarric during a media briefing on Thurdsday.

The court limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

By a 6-3 vote Thursday, with conservatives in the majority, the court said that the Clean Air Act does not give the EPA broad authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming.

Environmental advocates, dissenting liberal justices and President Joe Biden also said the decision was a major step in the wrong direction at a time of increasing environmental damage attributable to climate change amid dire warnings about the future.