Leading Biden officials outlined their methods to keep pushing the administration’s climate agenda if the Supreme Court limits the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court is likely to weaken the Biden administration’s efforts to limit carbon dioxide emissions in West Virginia v. EPA, with several of the justices having probed the extent of EPA’s authority in oral arguments. President Joe Biden’s senior officials remain confident in their ability to advance the administration’s aggressive environmental agenda by using the Clean Air Act and other government powers. (RELATED: Supreme Court Hears Blockbuster Climate Case With Separation Of Powers Implications)
During a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival, EPA Administrator Michael Regan promised to deploy a “suite of tools” including the Clean Air Act to regulate the power sector, regardless of the Supreme Court’s coming ruling.
“We have a suite of regulations that we can present to the power sector in one fell swoop,” Regan said.
The Biden administration is focused on ways to advance the ball on climate change policy and is prepared for multiple scenarios depending on what the Supreme Court decides and how far they go, according to Regan.
The transition to green energy “is not going to live and die by the Supreme Court’s decision tomorrow,” said White House National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy. “We just need to double down,” she continued.
The EPA is a great tool but “is not the only tool we have,” said McCarthy when discussing the upcoming decision.
“We’re not going to lose our stride, the only thing we’re going to try to continue to do is to go faster,” she said in reference to the future of Biden’s climate agenda.
The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 29, 2022. – Nearing the end of their term, the Supreme Court has yet to release decisions on two major cases, including immigration and the Environmental Protection Agency. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
McCarthy spoke of mobilizing the entire federal government “to take action” to accomplish Biden’s climate goals.
“Clean energy is the winner, whether you like it or not it already is,” she told the audience, speaking of the administration’s transition to clean energy.
“It’s not a matter of whether clean energy is the future it’s about how quickly we want to go,” said Regan, echoing McCarthy’s sentiment.
The White House and the EPA did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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