Zeldin announces rollback of power plant greenhouse gas limits

The Trump administration yesterday finalized a rollback of Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel power plants, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced.

Zeldin signed the final partial repeal of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units. EPA also issued a companion proposal that would go further, rescinding remaining greenhouse gas findings and standards for power plants under the Clean Air Act.

EPA said the rollback will save $310 billion and help preserve reliable, affordable electricity from coal and natural gas plants. Environmental and public-health advocates said the action abandons one of the federal government’s major tools for reducing climate pollution from the power sector.

The rule at issue regulated carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired plants. The Biden administration finalized the standards in April 2024, saying they would cut 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047 and produce up to $370 billion in climate and public-health net benefits over two decades.

EPA’s 2024 analysis said the power-plant standards would also reduce other air pollutants associated with burning fossil fuels. In 2035 alone, the agency projected the standards would help avoid up to 1,200 premature deaths, 870 hospital and emergency room visits, 1,900 cases of asthma onset and 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms.

EPA said the Biden-era standards exceeded the agency’s authority and relied on control technologies, including carbon capture, that were not adequately demonstrated. EPA said the repeal will help coal and natural gas plants continue operating as electricity demand rises.

Industry groups representing coal, manufacturing and rural electric cooperatives praised the repeal, arguing the Biden-era rule would have raised costs and threatened electric reliability. The National Mining Association said the standards would have forced coal plants toward “commercially unavailable and technically infeasible technologies, fuel-switching or closure.” The National Association of Manufacturers said the rule set “unachievable timelines” and thanked Zeldin for acting on industry concerns. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association welcomed the rollback but urged EPA to go further by repealing remaining limits on new natural gas plants.

State environmental officials and clean-air advocates sharply criticized the move, saying it would increase climate and public-health risks from fossil-fuel power plants. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton said Tuesday that coal and gas power plants are among the country’s largest sources of pollution. “EPA has a responsibility to protect Americans from this dangerous pollution,” Lefton said.

Environmental groups also condemned the rollback. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions called the repeal “a giant step backward.” Earthjustice said the agency was shirking its legal duty to address climate pollution from power plants. The Environmental Defense Fund said its preliminary analysis found the rollback could lead to more than $1 trillion in additional health costs and more than 80,000 additional premature deaths through 2047.

The action follows EPA’s February repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, the scientific and legal determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. That finding underpinned much of the federal government’s climate regulation under the Clean Air Act.

The new power-plant proposal appears to extend the Trump administration’s argument that EPA lacks authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions based on climate change. The February repeal applied to motor vehicles; Monday’s companion proposal targets power plants.

The repeal is expected to face legal challenges from environmental organizations and Democratic-led states. New York Attorney General Letitia James has already helped lead litigation challenging the Trump administration’s repeal of the endangerment finding.