By Michael Biesecker, Associated Press.

A coalition of 25 states opposing President Obama's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to stop the new regulations from taking effect until after their legal challenge is resolved.

West Virginia and Texas led the group of mostly Republican states that asked Chief Justice John Roberts to immediately bar the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing the Clean Power Plan. Roberts can consider the application on his own or refer it to the full court.

The move came after an appeals court in Washington last week denied a similar request, handing a significant procedural victory to the Obama administration.