In its final decision of the term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to set limits on carbon emissions from existing power plants, limiting the federal government’s regulatory authority to force power plants to shift away from generating power through the burning of fossil fuels that release greenhouse gasses that cause global warming.
Although utility companies in Florida have already been shifting away from coal-fired power plants, and some, like Florida Power & Light and Tampa Electric, have long-term net-zero carbon emissions goals, coal-fired plants continue to be the single-largest source of climate change-inducing carbon emissions in the country.
We’ll explore the Supreme Court ruling and what it could mean for Florida with Director of the Center for Environment and Society at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School, Jennifer Jones, Ph.D.