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The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it is repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action the agency said would remove more than $300 billion in costs for the industry and help “unleash” American energy.
The rule change, first proposed last year, represents a fundamental shift from efforts by Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to address climate change and clean up industrial pollution.
Environmental groups decried the change, saying it would come at a cost to Americans’ health 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.
The rule is expected to face immediate legal challenges. In a related action, the EPA proposed a separate rule, expected to be made final next year, that could prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The proposal follows on EPA’s action earlier this year revoking a scientific finding that long has been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.
The February action eliminated all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks. The new plan would apply similar logic to a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants.
The announcements came as EPA chief Lee Zeldin, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright host a G20 ministerial meeting on “energy abundance” in Houston. The announcement of the rule, coming on the same day, is both a nod to the important role oil-rich Texas plays in the energy industry and a potential snub of European and other international allies in attendance who have pursued environmentally friendly policies that the Trump administration has moved to undo.
