US repeals rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions by power plants
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is repealing rules limiting emissions by coal and gas power plants, in a move that undoes decades of protections meant to curb gasses scientist…
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is repealing rules limiting emissions by coal and gas power plants, in a move that undoes decades of protections meant to curb gasses scientists say are responsible for global warming.
“Americans have been demanding more common sense at federal agencies under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at a news conference in Houston on Monday. “That means cutting red tape so we can build new power-generating infrastructure.”
The EPA estimated the changes would eliminate more than $300bn in costs for power plants. The agency also proposed a separate rule, expected to be made final next year, that could prevent future administrations from returning and again regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The lifting of restrictions is sure to be challenged by environmental groups, who say it would come at a cost to the health of Americans and further degrade the environment. EPA officials said the change would allow utilities to make the best decisions for their ratepayers rather than be forced to close aging or inefficient plants.
“Denying the existence of a quarter of the country’s climate pollution is utterly reckless. It will lead to more lost lives and suffering from intense heatwaves, drastic storms and destructive wildfires, just like those we’ve seen this summer,” said Maggie Coulter, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute.
The EPA has rolled back a series of environmental oversight rules since US President Trump returned to office in 2025.
In February, it revoked a 2009 scientific finding that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, a stance that allowed for regulation of motor vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources of air pollution.
At the time, Trump celebrated the change, calling it “the single largest deregulatory action in American history”.
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