"Appeals Court Considers Obama’s Climate Change Plan"

"President Obama’s signature effort to combat global warming was alternately lauded as a reasonable attempt to move the nation toward cleaner energy sources and faulted as an unconstitutional, job-killing power grab during seven hours of vigorous legal arguments Tuesday.

With the Clean Power Plan’s future on the line, a 10-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struggled to discern whether the proposal goes too far in trying to compel power plants to cut carbon-dioxide emissions. The Obama administration contends it merely used its authority to nudge the industry in a direction many companies already are headed — toward more renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar.

This central piece of Obama’s environmental legacy, which will probably remain unsettled even after he leaves office in January, aims to slash the greenhouse-gas emissions that scientists agree are fueling the planet’s rapid warming. It also is an integral part of the commitment U.S. officials made as part of a historic climate accord signed in Paris last December, with countries around the world pledging to cut emissions aggressively in coming years."

Ann E. Marimow and Brady Dennis report for the Washington Post September 27, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Invoking Scalia, Judges Question Whether EPA Bent The Law" (Greenwire)

"Appeals Court Hears Challenge to Obama’s Climate Change Rules" (New York Times)

"Obama Power Plant Rules Face Key Test In Court" (Reuters)

"The Obamacare Of Climate Change? States Get Day In Court On EPA Plan" (McClatchy)

"US Appeals Court Hears Arguments In Clean Power Plan Case" (Associated Press)