The U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a request this week to freeze implementation of the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan while the broader lawsuit moves forward.
West Virginia leads 24 other states in an effort to block implementation of the new federal guidelines that aim to reduce carbon emissions throughout the United States.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey issued a statement saying he was disappointed in the ruling but that ultimately, he still believes his arguments will prevail. Morrisey said his office will consider urging the Supreme Court to consider the case.
Meanwhile the director of the Climate and Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, David Doniger, is celebrating the ruling as a “huge win.” He said in a news release that the decision “green lights work that most state have already begun.”
The federal Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule was released last year and uses state-specific targets to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 32 percent by 2030 from levels recorded in 2005.
Oral arguments to determine the merits of the case against the Clean Power Plan are scheduled for June 2.