Biden ties court fight to US climate change policy

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is warning that allowing President Donald Trump to pick a new justice for the US Supreme Court could have long-term consequences for the country's ability to address climate change.

The former vice president yesterday called on US Senate Republicans not to take up Trump's next nominee for the high court, citing climate change as one of the many areas that could be affected by the battle over who gets to fill the vacancy left by the 18 September death of justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

"We face four historic crises," Biden said. "A once-in-a-generation pandemic. A devastating economic recession. The rise of white supremacy unseen since the 1960's, and a reckoning on race long overdue. And a changing climate that is ravaging our nation as we speak. Supreme Court decisions touch every part of these crises — every part of our lives and our future."

Biden said the Senate should wait until the results of the election are known before acting. If Trump wins, the Senate could move ahead with his pick. Biden said if he wins, Trump's nominee should be withdrawn and he "should be the one who nominates justice Ginsburg's successor."

Although Republicans refused to hold hearings or a vote on former president Barack Obama's nomination of DC Circuit Court judge Merrick Garland to the court in 2016, citing that year's election, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) soon after Ginsburg's passing said that "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate."

Trump this morning said he expects to announce his nominee later this week, following services for Ginsburg.

"I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday and we want to pay respect," Trump said in a televised interview.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning there is little Democrats can do to block a vote on Trump's nominee, unless a handful of Republicans join them.

So far, senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have said they do not support holding a vote before the 3 November election. Collins, who is in the middle of a tough re-election campaign, went a step further and said the vacancy should be filled by whoever is elected president in November.

Biden said he hoped that other Republicans would follow suit, warning that "the last thing we need is to add a constitutional crisis that plunges us deeper into the abyss."

The outcome of the Supreme Court fight could have long-lasting implications for US climate policy, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority if Trump's next pick is confirmed. That could make it difficult for Biden, if elected, to pursue some of his policy proposals, particularly those that would be carried out by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal regulators.

Biden's climate policy plan calls for a number of regulatory steps, including new fuel economy standards that will lead to the sale of only electric light- and medium-duty cars and trucks, and requiring more aggressive methane limits for oil and gas operations.

Trump, if he is re-elected, may be able to successfully defend a number of his administration's efforts to roll back Obama-era regulations that have faced setbacks in federal court with a more receptive conservative court majority.

The day before Ginsburg's passing, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals put a hold on EPA's repeal of methane standards for new oil and gas production facilities. The same court is reviewing EPA's decision to repeal and replace the Obama Clean Power Plan with less aggressive CO2 standards for coal-fired power plants.

By Michael Ball