In what is, in effect, a direct slap in the face to the Bush Administration's stand on emission regulations in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been shirking its responsibility to the nation by not enforcing regulations on damaging greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle tailpipes.

This has been a long time coming - the battle began in 1999 - and crossed the line in a very tight finish:

The Supreme Court ruled this morning that the federal government has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases, report U.S. News reporters Bret Schulte and Liz Halloran. The groundbreaking 5-4 decision offers a direct rebuke of the Bush administration's position on the subject.

... Not only is the decision a stinging setback for the White House, which has rejected participation in the international Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases, but a watershed moment in the nation's debate over global warming.

"This is huge," says Daniel Esty, director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University and a former EPA official. "The bottom line is it puts the U.S. on track to regulate carbon dioxide." - U.S. News

This, of course, is where the fun begins - as the U.S. must now embark on a road-to-discovery similar to the E.U., in trying to find politically and socially acceptable ways to reduce the output of greenhouse gases whilst simultaneously grappling with the desire to grow the economy and compete with other nations.

... But this decision still means relatively small in terms of nation-wide action on global warming. The EPA plans to review and decide how best to interpret the ruling, a process that could easily consume the rest of Bush's tenure as president. And, while the Supreme Court's backing certainly provides political cover to supporters of a nation-wide law to cut greenhouse gases, it doesn't change the fundamental nature of the debate. Congress has yet to tackle how such restrictions would be enacted without harming the economy and giving a competitive advantage to unregulated giants, such as China and India. - U.S. News

U.S. politicians may well be closely monitoring moves in the UK, as they beat out their own carbon reduction plans.