Supreme Court decision threatens Biden’s efforts to curb vehicle emissions

A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling curtailing federal regulatory powers could significantly hamper President Joe Biden’s initiative to reduce emissions from the nation’s vehicle fleet, according to two environmental lawyers. The justices ruled 6-3 to overturn a 1984 “Chevron deference” precedent that required judges to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous U.S. laws like the Clean Air Act.

The ruling challenges federal agencies’ ability to defend strict rules on a variety of environmental, health care and other regulations. Biden’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars and trucks that target mobile sources rather than stationary sources like power plants are particularly at risk. The Clean Air Act’s ambiguity about whether regulators should target mobile sources complicates matters.

Sherry Jackman, an environmental litigation and compliance attorney at Greenberg Glusker in Los Angeles, noted the long-standing debates over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate emissions from mobile sources. Transportation accounts for about a quarter of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, making it a key area of ​​the Biden administration’s decarbonization strategy.

David Pettit, a senior climate and energy attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, predicted that critics would use the Chevron decision to challenge greenhouse gas regulations on vehicles. He said the oil industry, in particular, could argue that the EPA lacks the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources under the Clean Air Act.

It should be noted that the EPA recently attempted to develop regulations without invoking Chevron’s compliance.

Interest groups, including automakers, oil companies and agricultural producers, have already launched multiple administrative and legal challenges to the Biden administration’s vehicle emissions plan. The groups argue that the rules will force a shift to electric vehicles across the board, from passenger cars to 18-wheelers. They have succeeded in relaxing EPA emissions rules in the past, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron could now affect the ongoing challenges.