AOC calls Supreme Court EPA ruling on power plant emissions 'catastrophic'

Progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that the Supreme Court's decision on the Clean Air Act is "catastrophic."

In a Thursday morning tweet, the Democratic firebrand and climate justice advocate swiped at the Supreme Court.

"Catastrophic. A filibuster carveout is not enough," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "We need to reform or do away with the whole thing, for the sake of the planet."

In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lacked broad statutory authority to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

At issue in West Virginia v. EPA was whether, under the Clean Air Act, Congress constitutionally authorized the EPA to implement regulations on states to reduce carbon dioxide pollution by moving away from coal-fired power plants to other forms of energy.

"Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible 'solution to the crisis of the day.' But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d). A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body."

In a dissent, Justice Elena Kagan – joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer – said that the decision strips t... (Read more)

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