The First Court Victory for Environmentalists Under Trump
The EPA’s climate-focused methane rule will stay in force.
Republicans hit another roadblock on Monday in their quest to repeal or weaken recent environmental rules restricting methane emissions.
In a split ruling, the federal appeals court for Washington, D.C., told EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that he cannot suspend enforcement of the agency’s “methane rule” while his staff considers whether to rewrite it.
The ruling is a rare victory for climate advocates during the Trump administration—and their first win in court this year. Methane, the key ingredient in than each molecule of carbon dioxide, making methane a big short-term influence on the intensity of global warming.
