Scalia was the fifth vote the conservative bloc of the court needed to finally strike down the Clean Power Plan, but without him (or any replacement) the court will likely be deadlocked in a four to four vote — meaning their decision sets no precedent, and the lower court ruling stands.
Indeed, without Scalia’s vote last week, the court would not have overturned the D.C. Court of Appeals’ decision not to issue a stay on the CPP, meaning states would have had to submit plans to the EPA on how they would cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
Obama wants leading the world to sign a major climate deal a hallmark of his presidency, but to do that the president needed to promise the world he could get China to pledge to fight global warming.
Obama and Chinese leadership announced such a deal in 2014, but to get China to promise to peak its emissions by 2030, the president promised the U.S. would cut CO2 emissions 26 to 28 percent by 2025.
