President Obama’s climate plan facing court challenges

President Barack Obama’s climate action plan is facing a legal challenge from critics who want to put an end to the ambitious programme.

A federal appeals court is due to hear arguments on Thursday in two cases challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants in the U.S.

One of the lawsuits has been filed by a coalition of 15 states and the other has been brought by Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp, the country’s largest private coal mining company and they are part of a growing attack from opponents who say the plan is illegal and will cut jobs, cripple demand for coal and increase energy prices.

At the centre of the case is whether he EPA has legal authority for the plan under the Clean Air Act.

The EPA and environmental groups have called for the court to throw the cases out, saying legal challenges should be delayed until the agency issues a final rule later in 2015.

The EPA rule proposed last year requires states to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.

There has been a growing political backlash the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, sent a letter in March urging the governors of 50 states to defy the EPA by refusing to submit the plans.

Some states including West Virginia argue that the plan is illegal as coal-fired power plants are already regulated under a separate section of the Clean Air Act.