EPA says climate rules are the job of U.S. Congress

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The top U.S. environmental regulator on Friday declined to make rules to regulate planet-warming emissions under existing pollution laws despite a Supreme Court decision that has pressured his agency to act.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson said Congress should make rules to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming.

U.S. lawmakers said the Bush Administration has saddled the next president with the responsibility of rule-making. A proposed U.S. climate bill died last month in the Senate.

Last year’s Massachusetts v. EPA Supreme Court ruling had found that greenhouse gases can be regulated under the U.S. Clean Air Act. The decision pressured the EPA to reconsider its refusal to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from new cars and trucks.

Reuters