On Thursday, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the federal government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The 6-3 decision, which included Chief Justice John Roberts voting with the conservative majority, related to the case West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Congress did not grant EPA … the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan,” the majority wrote. 

Environmental regulations that were created to slow the advancement of climate change are affected. 

The deregulation was pressured by West Virginia and many Republican-led states, that believe the EPA should not have the authority to regulate the energy sector. Many of the states that supported the efforts to deregulate are fossil fuel producers. 

The court’s statement refers to the Clean Power Plan, passed  in 2015 under former President Obama, which sought to limit carbon dioxide omissions from power plants. The Supreme Court previously blocked that plan.

In 2019, the EPA came up with a new plan – the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, but a court struck it down. 

The Biden administration EPA has been working on their own plans for slowing down climate change, but the GOP-led states have fought hard to prevent any potential progress from occurring. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said in the past that the EPA was waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision before moving forward. He told Congress in April, “We’re going to be ready to go as soon as the Supreme Court rules.”

Scientists say that emissions from power plants are causing temperatures to rise globally, and research and analysis of data shows that there will be a significant impact on food and water supply, global health, and environmental conditions all over the world, according to a United Nations report. The United Nations and scientists are warning the world that governments are not doing enough to combat climate change and are unprepared for its impact, that could come sooner than we think.

One thing is for certain – we all have to breathe.