EPA repeals climate protection regulations for US power plants

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is repealing regulations to limit climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. The majority of greenhouse gas regulations for US power plants that were introduced under the Democratic administration of previous President Joe Biden will be rolled back, EPA chief Lee Zeldin said at a G20 ministerial meeting in Houston, Texas.

“For more than 15 years, the (Barack) Obama and Biden administrations have waged a war on coal to destroy reliable and affordable energy,” Zeldin was quoted as saying in a statement from his office. President Donald Trump's administration came in to change that. “Americans will see falling electricity prices,” he promised. Coal burning to generate electricity is expected to increase more than tenfold, the EPA statement said.

The now announced repeal of emissions regulations will most likely be challenged in court in the USA. It refers to standards from 2024 that required coal-fired power plants to drastically reduce their climate-damaging emissions. Otherwise, the power plants should cease operations by 2039.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has now proposed repealing all remaining regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants in the future. She argues that, based on the current legal situation, she has no authority to regulate emissions from power plants because of climate change.

Trump unwinds climate action

In February of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency, following Trump's line, declared greenhouse gases unproblematic and thus overturned the central legal basis for laws to protect the climate. The so-called Endangerment Finding, with which the EPA had classified the most important greenhouse gases, including CO2, as a threat to public health and the well-being of the population since 2009, was canceled.

Greenhouse gases are considered the main driver of man-made climate change. According to research, they have led to a significant increase in average global temperatures since the late 19th century. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this affects all regions of the world - for example through more frequent and severe extreme weather events such as floods, heat waves and droughts.

The USA is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Trump has rolled back various climate protection measures since taking office. In January, the United States officially withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2015, around 200 countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees compared to pre-industrial times - and if possible to just 1.5 degrees. This should avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.