In 2015, President Obama’s administration adopted the Clean Power Plan, which sought to address climate change by reducing carbon pollution from power plants. Under this plan, the Environmental Protection Agency set individual goals for each state to cut power-plant emissions by 2030.
The Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2022 that the EPA cannot put state-level caps on carbon emissions under the 1970 Clean Air Act. The Supreme Court agreed with Republican-led states that the Court of Appeals was wrong when it interpreted the Clean Air Act to give the EPA expansive power over carbon emissions. The Court said the authority to decide how power is created in the U.S. must come from Congress.
While the Court decision limits the authority of the EPA under the Clean Air Act, it does not limit all EPA authority. The Court ruling also does not prevent federal, state, or local government action on climate change. Congress can pass new laws empowering the EPA to take additional actions. Many states have also passed laws to lower carbon emissions.
Explain how all three branches of the federal government were involved in the public-policy making process in this case
