SUPREME DECISION

The decision is widely regarded as a rebuke to the Bush administration position on global warming.

High Court Faults EPA Inaction on Emissions; Critics of Bush Stance on Warming Claim Victory
Robert Barnes and Juliet Eilperin, April 3, 2007 (Washington Post)

WHO
SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States),

WHAT
The case: Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al.
The 5-4 decision: It was a violation of the Clean Air Act for EPA to refuse to establish pollution-control regulations on new vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.
Justices John Paul Stevens, Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter voted for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented, backing the EPA.


WHEN
The EPA has nowhere else to appeal and must now confront the issue.

WHERE
The decision was, of course, rendered in Washington, D.C., but affects the entire nation, from auto manufacturers to environmentalists. It is also seen as highly politically charged and bears on energy and environmental legislation currently under consideration in congress and around the country.

WHY
In 2004, EPA claimed it lacked authority on greenhouse gases and said there was “scientific uncertainty” about the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. The court found that EPA was required by the Clean Air Act to establish regulations, especially in view of current awareness of the relationship between emissions and warming. The court clearly stated it could not dictate EPA’s conclusions, only that is was required to rule.

QUOTES
- "EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. The agency "identifies nothing suggesting that Congress meant to curtail EPA's power to treat greenhouse gases as air pollutants," the opinion continued.
- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.: “…Global warming may be a ‘crisis,’ even ‘the most pressing environmental problem of our time,’ but that it is an issue for Congress and the executive branch…the court's majority used ‘sleight-of-hand’ to even grant Massachusetts the standing to sue.”
- "The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers believes that there needs to be a national, federal, economy-wide approach to addressing greenhouse gases," said the alliance's president, Dave McCurdy, whose group had supported the EPA's position.