The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to formally rescind carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants, potentially as early as Monday. This action is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to roll back climate regulations, coinciding with a Group of 20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston.
Earlier this year, the EPA had already revoked climate standards for vehicles and a 2009 determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health. The current rollback targets requirements for existing and future power plants to implement emissions-reduction technologies like carbon capture and storage.
Additionally, the EPA plans to propose a rule that would negate the federal recognition of greenhouse gases from power plants as a specific threat under the Clean Air Act. The U.S. power sector is a significant industrial source of greenhouse gas emissions, ranking as the sixth-largest emitter globally. Previous efforts, such as the Clean Power Plan initiated under the Obama administration, aimed to limit emissions but faced legal challenges and were ultimately struck down.
The Biden administration had implemented new rules to mandate substantial carbon capture from coal plants, but these, too, are now under review for repeal.
