The United States Environmental Protection Agency is repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, the agency announced Monday. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the change would remove more than $300bn in costs for power plants and help utilities build new generating infrastructure.
Environmental and public health groups say they will challenge the rollback in court, arguing that weaker protections could increase pollution and harm Americans’ health and the environment.
Why the EPA says it is lifting the limits
EPA officials said utilities should be able to make decisions for their ratepayers rather than being forced to close aging or inefficient plants. The agency also said the move would help supply electricity to homes and businesses as demand rises from data centres, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing.
The announcement was made in Houston alongside a G20 ministerial meeting focused on “energy abundance”. Zeldin described the action as part of the Trump administration’s pledge to “unleash American energy.” Related coverage: India introduces domestically built hydrogen train as part of clean energy goals.
Key points
- The EPA says the rollback will give utilities more discretion over aging or inefficient plants.
- A separate EPA proposal could restrict future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants; the agency expects to make it final next year.
- Coal, gas and oil-fired power plants account for about one-quarter of US climate pollution.
Opponents point to health and climate risks
Environmental groups said removing national protections could mean more smog, mercury, lead and fine particles that can lodge in the lungs. They also warned that higher greenhouse gas emissions would intensify global warming.
The rules being dismantled followed a 2024 EPA measure under which coal-fired power plants would have had to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. An analysis based on earlier EPA assessments and other research estimated those rules could prevent 30,000 deaths and save $275bn for each year they remained in effect.
The rollback follows wider EPA changes
The EPA has also moved against other environmental safeguards since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025. In February, it revoked a 2009 finding that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare, a finding that supported regulation of motor vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources. Read the context: Environmental and Health Risks from Plastic Pollution in Yemen’s Wadi Dawan Valley.
Health and environmental groups are already challenging that February action in court. The repeal of the power-plant restrictions is expected to face a similar legal challenge, while the separate proposal addressing future regulation remains on a path toward a final decision next year.
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