Trump Administration Repeals Power Plant Carbon Rules

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is repealing regulations that limit greenhouse-gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, reversing major climate protections established under previous administrations. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move would reduce federal costs and allow utilities to build infrastructure and make decisions based on the needs of electricity customers. The agency estimates the changes will eliminate more than $300bn in costs for power plants and has proposed a separate rule that could make it difficult for future administrations to reinstate greenhouse-gas regulations. The rollback is expected to face lawsuits from environmental and public-health organizations. Critics argue that weakening the rules will increase emissions and expose Americans to more heatwaves, storms, wildfires, smog, mercury, lead and fine-particle pollution. An Associated Press analysis cited in the article found that the targeted rules could prevent about 30,000 deaths and generate $275bn in annual benefits while in effect. The decision is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to dismantle environmental regulations and expand fossil-fuel production. His administration has revoked a 2009 scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, withdrawn the US from the Paris climate accord for a second time and targeted nearly three dozen EPA regulations. The announcement was made during a G20 energy meeting in Houston, underscoring tensions between the administration’s energy policy and international efforts to reduce emissions. Supporters, including the US coal industry, say repealing the rules will protect electricity-grid reliability and prevent higher consumer costs amid rising demand from data centers, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing. Opponents say coal, gas and oil power plants are responsible for roughly one-quarter of US climate pollution and that the policy will produce substantial health, environmental and climate costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency has repealed carbon-dioxide emissions limits for power plants established during the Biden administration and proposed eliminating all remaining federal greenhouse-gas regulations for the sector. The Biden rules required existing coal-fired plants and newly built natural-gas plants to control 90% of their carbon-dioxide emissions. Power plants are the second-largest source of U.S. planet-warming emissions, behind transportation, according to the EPA. The broader proposal argues that the federal government lacks authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate power-plant greenhouse-gas emissions because of their effects on climate change. Although the proposal remains subject to finalization, an EPA official said it would prevent future administrations from using the law to regulate power-plant emissions for climate purposes. The repeal was announced as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met with G20 counterparts in Houston to discuss energy policy. Zeldin presented the action as a measure that could lower electricity costs for American households. The administration is emphasizing affordability ahead of the November midterm elections, while fuel prices are rising amid the U.S. war with Iran. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to reverse climate-related regulations adopted under the Obama and Biden administrations. The EPA previously revoked a finding that classified carbon dioxide as a threat to public health. At the same time, the administration has pursued expanded coal, natural-gas and oil production while opposing or restricting solar and wind projects. The policy shift could reshape federal climate regulation of the power sector and make future efforts to impose emissions limits more difficult.

The Trump administration is preparing to repeal federal carbon pollution standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants, according to people familiar with the matter. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could formally rescind the Biden-era rules as soon as Sept 14, potentially announcing the move alongside a Group of 20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston, Texas. The rules adopted under President Joe Biden required existing and future fossil-fuel power plants to use emissions-reduction technologies, including carbon capture and storage. For the existing coal fleet, compliance would effectively require plants to capture most of their carbon emissions by 2039 or shut down. Repealing the standards would reverse one of the Biden administration’s major efforts to reduce emissions from the electricity sector. The EPA also plans to propose withdrawing a separate finding that greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants endanger public health under the Clean Air Act. The action follows earlier Trump administration moves in 2026 to rescind similar vehicle standards and the broader 2009 endangerment finding, which concluded that greenhouse gases threaten human health. Power plants are the largest industrial source of greenhouse-gas emissions in the US. An analysis by New York University’s Institute for Policy Integrity estimated that, if the US power sector were a country, it would be the world’s sixth-largest emitter. The repeal would mark another reversal in the long-running legal and political dispute over power-plant climate regulation. The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2022, while a replacement rule from Trump’s first administration was also rejected by a court. The EPA did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours.