The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to repeal rules designed to limit pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants. The agency also said it would seek measures to prevent future administrations from regulating power-plant pollution in the same way.
The EPA said removing most of the climate rules introduced under President Joe Biden would save $310bn (£223bn) and reduce energy prices. Its head, Lee Zeldin, said the rules unfairly targeted power plants and that the changes would support affordable and reliable energy supplies.
The Biden-era regulations required substantial reductions in carbon emissions from power plants, alongside measures covering vehicles and industrial facilities. The EPA said the power-plant rules exceeded its legal authority and required pollution-control technologies that were not adequately demonstrated, potentially forcing plants to retire rather than comply with achievable standards.
Environmental groups condemned the announcement. Nathaniel Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, called it “a giant step backward” and said the EPA had ignored science and economics and failed in its responsibility to protect public health. The EPA, however, said possible health harms linked specifically to the US power sector were too uncertain to establish a direct connection. Zeldin said safeguards covering hazardous air pollutants would remain.
The EPA’s proposals will undergo public scrutiny and are expected to face immediate legal challenges. The agency is also seeking to remove other greenhouse-gas rules affecting the power sector.
The power sector accounts for about a quarter of US emissions, producing roughly 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent annually, according to the latest available estimates cited by the BBC. US emissions from the sector have generally declined over recent decades as coal use has fallen, although they rose slightly last year. The precise effect of the proposed changes remains uncertain; previous Rhodium Group modelling suggested that rolling back US climate regulations would slow, but not reverse, emissions reductions.