Obama’s climate initiative Stopped by Supreme Court

President Barack Obama’s proposal to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from US power plants have been deferred  by the US Supreme Court.The court ruled that the president’s Clean Power Plan could not go forward until all legal challenges were cleared.Designed to cut US emissions by 32% by 2030, the scheme put huge emphasis on a shift to renewable energy.

It formed the key element of the US pledge at UN climate negotiations held in Paris in December last year.Introduced by the president last August, the plan set carbon reduction goals for each state and it was up to the states themselves to come up with proposals to meet those goals.A group of 27 states, utilities and coal miners sought to block the proposal in the courts. They argued that the plan was an infringement on states’ rights.

An initial attempt to halt the implementation of the plan until legal challenges were heard was thrown out by a US appeals court in Washington in January.However the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to suspend the plan pending the outcome of the litigation.