Supreme Court Rejects GOP Challenge on Climate Cost Estimates; More Legal Battles Expected as Biden Administration Moves Forward.

The Supreme Court declined to review a decision that rejected the red states’ arguments on the grounds that agencies had not yet used the formulas in rulemaking at the time they filed their challenges. However, Missouri or other GOP-led states are expected to return to court as the Biden administration finalizes more rules using the interim social cost estimates. The estimates highlight the hidden costs of climate change by putting a price on a metric ton of emissions. The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency plea led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, to stop the administration from using the new formula. A new White House proposal to broaden use of the metric by applying it to a wider swath of government decisions is likely to spur another round of litigation. Critics argue that the more often conservatives raise the “major questions” mantra, the more likely it is that the claims will be rejected.