By Trend

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by states, including coal producer West Virginia, and industry groups to limit federal power to use the landmark Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The court's decision to take up the case could complicate efforts by President Joe Biden's administration to issue new and more stringent regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The announcement came two days before Biden arrives in Glasgow, Scotland, for the UN COP26 climate summit, where he had planned to reassert U.S. leadership on climate change. His predecessor Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the Paris climate agreement.

The high court will hear a case brought by 20 states and various industry groups, including coal interests, to review a rulingby the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to strike down a Trump-era rule intended to constrain regulation of carbon emissions from power plants.

The appeals court had ruled against Trump's Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule which was challenged by states and groups that supported the Clean Power Plan of former President Barack Obama. That rule would have given the Environmental Protection Agency power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants.