Recent Developments in U.S. Climate Law: Judicial Retrenchment and Congressional Action.

This article focuses on the evolution and current state of U.S. federal climate policy, highlighting two pivotal developments in 2022: the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA, which limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to implement broad climate regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA), and Congress’s enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a multi-billion-dollar investment in clean energy and emissions reduction. The Supreme Court’s ruling applied the “major questions doctrine” to restrict EPA’s ability to impose transformative energy policies like the Clean Power Plan, emphasizing that such significant regulatory actions require clear congressional authorization. In response, the IRA provides substantial funding through tax credits and subsidies to support clean energy deployment, signaling a shift toward legislative-driven climate action while leaving EPA’s more traditional regulatory roles intact. Together, these developments reshape the balance of federal climate efforts, with Congress taking a more active role in driving the energy transition amid judicial constraints on administrative agencies.