JULIANA V. UNITED STATES 27
extraordinary supervision by this court. . . . [and] may be
inappropriate where it requires constant supervision.”).
8
As the Supreme Court recently explained, “a
constitutional directive or legal standards” must guide the
courts’ exercise of equitable power. Rucho v. Common
Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484, 2508 (2019). Rucho found partisan
gerrymandering claims presented political questions beyond
the reach of Article III courts. Id. at 2506–07. The Court
did not deny extreme partisan gerrymandering can violate
the Constitution. See id. at 2506; id. at 2514–15 (Kagan, J.,
dissenting). But, it concluded that there was no “limited and
precise” standard discernible in the Constitution for
redressing the asserted violation. Id. at 2500. The Court
8
However belatedly, the political branches are currently debating
such action. Many resolutions and plans have been introduced in
Congress, ranging from discrete measures to encourage clean energy
innovation to the “Green New Deal” and comprehensive proposals for
taxing carbon and transitioning all sectors of the economy away from
fossil fuels. See, e.g., H.R. Res. 109, 116th Cong. (2019); S.J. Res. 8,
116th Cong. (2019); Enhancing Fossil Fuel Energy Carbon Technology
Act, S. 1201, 116th Cong. (2019); Climate Action Now Act, H.R. 9,
116th Cong. (2019); Methane Waste Prevention Act, H.R. 2711, 116th
Cong. (2019); Clean Energy Standard Act, S. 1359, 116th Cong. (2019);
National Climate Bank Act, S. 2057, 116th Cong. (2019); Carbon
Pollution Transparency Act, S. 1745, 116th Cong. (2019); Leading
Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act, H.R. 2741, 116th Cong.
(2019); Buy Clean Transparency Act, S. 1864, 116th Cong. (2019);
Carbon Capture Modernization Act, H.R. 1796, 116th Cong. (2019);
Challenges & Prizes for Climate Act, H.R. 3100, 116th Cong. (2019);
Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, H.R. 763, 116th Cong.
(2019); Climate Risk Disclosure Act, S. 2075, 116th Cong. (2019);
Clean Energy for America Act, S. 1288, 116th Cong. (2019). The
proposed legislation, consistent with the opinions of the plaintiffs’
experts, envisions that tackling this global problem involves the exercise
of discretion, trade-offs, international cooperation, private-sector
partnerships, and other value judgments ill-suited for an Article III court.