Supreme Court decision in climate change case foreshadows major shift in regulatory landscape
No Innovation and Competition Act if Democrats pursue climate bill
Bill to phase out single-use plastics and packaging waste approved
Role of carbon capture in California 2045 net-zero goal
Republican-led states file lawsuit regarding fuel efficiency standards
This article outlines pertinent legal and policy climate change developments in the United States during the past week.(1)
Supreme Court decision in climate change case foreshadows major shift in regulatory landscape
On 30 June 2022, the Supreme Court invoked the "major questions doctrine" in West Virginia v EPA. In the 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court's majority determined that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "may not adopt rules that are transformation to the economy—unless Congress has specifically authorized such a rule to address a specific problem, like climate change".(2)
No Innovation and Competition Act if Democrats pursue climate bill
On the same day, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to sink the US Innovation and Competition Act "as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill". The bill to which McConnell referred is President Biden's welfare and climate bill, which could authorise clean energy tax breaks, among other things.
Bill to phase out single-use plastics and packaging waste approved
Also on 30 June 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law California Senate Bill No. 54 (SB 54), which requires all packaging in California to be either recyclable or compostable by 2032. Additionally, the law establishes a group, which includes industry representatives, to run a recycling programme. SB 54 is:
the most significant overhaul of California's plastics and packaging recycling policy in history, [it] goes further than any other state on cutting plastics production at the source and continues to build a circular economy that is necessary to combat climate change.(2)
Role of carbon capture in California 2045 net-zero goal
The California Air Resources Board recently released a plan that estimates that approximately one-third of emission reductions in 2045 would come from carbon capture efforts. The draft 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan – which was subject to its first public discussion on 23 June 2022 – aims to:
guide the state's transition to a clean energy economy, drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels, achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 or sooner, and significantly clean the state's air especially in disadvantaged communities disproportionately burdened by persistent pollution.(3)
Republican-led states file lawsuit regarding fuel efficiency standards
In a new lawsuit, various Republican-led states – including Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas and Utah – requested a federal court in Washington DC to review the National Highway Traffic Safety's corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. The CAFÉ standards were released on 1 April 2022.
For further information on this topic please contact Kenneth Markowitz at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP by telephone (+1 202 887 4000) or email ([email protected]). The Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP website can be accessed at www.akingump.com.
Leila Fleming, public policy specialist, assisted with the preparation of this article.
Endnotes
(1) For further updates, including upcoming congressional hearings, federal agency climate news and events, see "Climate Policy Update".
(2) For further information, see "Supreme Court restricts the EPA's authority to mandate carbon emissions reductions".
(2) "Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Cutting Harmful Plastic Pollution to Protect Communities, Oceans and Animals", press release, 30 June 2022.
(3) "CARB releases ambitious draft climate action plan to slash use of fossil fuels and reach carbon neutrality by 2045", press release, 10 May 2022.