With the 2020 presidential election looming, and much of the nation’s attention focused on massive issues, such as the pandemic and social justice, the discussion about climate change seems to have taken a backseat. It was not long ago that President Obama’s innovative Clean Power Plan was repealed and replaced by the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule. The repeal arguably favored the coal-fired power plant industry—at the expense of our respiratory health. The Clean Power Plan was a regulatory scheme, passed under the Clean Air Act, aiming to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from certain power plants. The plan was widely criticized as being a radical departure from traditional Clean Air Act regulation.
Challengers quickly sought judicial review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went beyond the authority delegated to it by Congress. Eventually, the Supreme Court would stay its implementation, which Trump was quick to dismantle. On July 8, 2019, the American Lung Association and the American Public Health Association filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s repeal and its subsequent replacement, and on August 14, 2019, a coalition of 29 states and cities sued to block the EPA from easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants. These cases present interesting questions on how much power the federal government has in fighting climate change.
The issues taking center-stage in this year’s election are very important, and no one can deny the devastating effects of racial injustice and the pandemic. However, have we forgotten about climate change? It is clear where this current administration stands on the matter, the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, and the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Deal, paint a clear picture. Less clear is what will happen if Joe Biden wins. Biden claims to have a climate plan that carries a staggering two-trillion-dollar price tag. He even has a plan to establish an Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the Department of Justice. Can we afford Biden’s plan? Will his regulations violate delegated congressional authority? Whatever your political affiliations may be, the right to a clean environment seems like a basic concept that we should all get behind.
