US Revokes Limits on Power Plants' Climate Pollution

The US EPA announced repeal of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, eliminating most limits on climate-warming emissions from coal and gas power plants.

The US EPA announced on September 14 that it is repealing the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which required existing coal plants and new gas plants to capture 90 percent of carbon emissions or shut down by 2039. The Biden-era rule was projected to cut an estimated 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047 and prevent roughly 1,200 deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in 2035. The EPA also proposed removing all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants, citing $370 million in regulatory cost savings. Human Rights Watch criticized the move as one of the Trump administration's most significant rollbacks of climate and public health protections.