EPA removes emissions limits for U.S. power plants

Donald Trump's administration continues to dismantle US climate regulations. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in Houston, Texas, the removal of limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The measure cancels rules adopted in 2024 under Joe Biden and also aims to prevent the adoption of future comparable constraints.

EPA boss Lee Zeldin presented the decision as a major step in the government's energy policy. “Today, we are removing bureaucratic red tape in order to implement the largest deregulation operation ever undertaken in the electricity sector,” he declared during a press conference. “Under the Trump administration, the EPA will in no way bend the law to indulge climate alarmism or radicalism,” he added, accusing journalists of seeking to “scare” the public.

Supporting electricity production

The administration justifies this change by the need to support electricity production deemed reliable and affordable. “For more than 15 years, the Obama and Biden administrations have waged a war on coal to destroy a reliable, affordable energy source,” said Lee Zeldin. According to him, the objective is to protect the American energy sector and contain the cost of electricity for households.

The energy sector accounts for nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In 2025, natural gas provided 41% of the country's total electricity production and coal 17%, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. Demand is growing in parallel with the development of artificial intelligence and data centers, which consume a lot of electricity.

Protest from environmental organizations

The EPA specifies that the removal of the rules concerns greenhouse gases and that other pollutants will continue to be regulated. The agency also considers that the reduction targets set under Joe Biden were impossible to meet and maintains that it does not have the necessary legal power to impose such limits on the electricity sector.

Environmental organizations strongly contested this decision. Rachel Cleetus, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, accuses the authorities of “reinforcing the profits of the fossil fuel industry” to the detriment of “the health and well-being of the population”. She also believes that “the EPA has completely abandoned its mission” and “even boasts of it with glee”.

Legal action announced

Several legal actions have been announced. Meredith Hankins, a lawyer at NRDC, says she sees "contradictions" in the administration's reasoning and says, "So I look forward to meeting them in court." In 2025, more than 200 caregivers and experts had already expressed their “deep concern” about what they described as a “blatant gift to polluters”.