The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how the Environmental Protection Agency can reduce carbon emissions from existing power plants.

In the case West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the court voted 6 to 3, along conservative ideological lines, in favor of West Virginia. 

"Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible 'solution to the crisis of the day.' But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority opinion.

The dissenters argued this decision shouldn’t be made by SCOTUS.

"The Court appoints itself — instead of Congress or the expert agency — the decision maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening," wrote Justice Elena Kagan in the dissenting opinion.

Kagan adds, the decision strips the EPA of the power Congress gave it to respond to "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time."

Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer joined her in disagreeing with the majority opinion.

This court ruling impacts President Joe Biden’s goal of the U.S. power grid running on clean energy by 2035, and achieving full carbon-neutrality by 2050.

The U.S. is the world’s second-biggest annual emitter of greenhouse gases, The Washington Post reports.

"Our lawyers will study the ruling carefully, and we will find ways to move forward under federal law," said White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan in a statement.

He adds, "At the same time, Congress must also act to accelerate America's path to a clean, healthy, and secure energy future."

Environmentalists and the international community are also expressing concerns over the ruling.

Richard Revesz, an environmental expert at the New York University School of Law, told the Associated Press the decision is a "significant setback for environmental protection and public health safeguards."

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric described it as "a setback in out fight against climate change."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) applauded the SCOTUS ruling, saying in a statement, "the Court has undone illegal regulations issued by the EPA without any clear congressional authorization and confirmed that only the people’s representatives in Congress — not unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats — may write our nation's laws."

This SCOTUS ruling places the responsibility for regulating emissions from the power sector on the legislative branch. But climate action in Congress has stalled.

Democrats have been negotiating a climate and clean energy bill for months with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, but have made little progress.

Scientists warn the planet is warming faster than they previously predicted.

To avoid the worst consequences, they say the international community must limit global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius. But global warming has already passed 1.1 degrees.

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