UN calls US emissions ruling a 'setback' in climate fight

The United Nations said Thursday's US Supreme Court ruling that curbs regulators' power to limit greenhouse gas emissions had dealt a blow to the fight against global warming.

"This is a setback in our fight against climate change," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

By a majority of 6-3, the US high court said the Environmental Protection Agency did not have the power to set broad caps on emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The decision sets back President Joe Biden's hopes of using the EPA to bring down emissions to meet global climate goals, set in 2015 under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Dujarric said the world is far off course to meet the goals of that accord.

"Decisions like the one today in the US or any other major emitting economy make it harder to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, for a healthy, liveable planet, especially as we need to accelerate the phase out of coal and the transition to renewable energies," he said.

He added however that "the actions of a single nation should not and cannot make or break whether we reach our climate objectives."