Latest news with #CleanPowerPlan
Gulf Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Coal-powered AI robots are a dirty fantasy
Liam Denning, Tribune News Service The same day President Donald Trump launched his AI Action Plan, his Energy Secretary Chris Wright pulled federal support for a power project with ties to renewable energy that could help that plan. Not coincidentally, Trump instructed Wright at his AI summit that he must say 'clean, beautiful' before any mention of the word 'coal' and that the US must compete with China's construction of new coal-fired plants. Possibly the only thing more bizarre than Trump's enforced catch-phrasing is his vision of 21st century robots running on a power technology that hasn't been cutting-edge since the days of Thomas Edison. Coal has long been a political prop for Trump, but this has taken on greater significance in his second term, with a naked assault on both the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and zero-carbon technologies (nuclear power excepted). When coal isn't being touted as beautiful or clean, it is pitched as reliable and cheap, and due for a comeback if freed from overbearing rules. This is a fantasy, and a bleak one at that, not just for the climate but also that AI plan. You don't need a conspiracy theory to explain coal's decline in the US. It lost 31 percentage points of market share in US power generation between 2005 and 2024, and natural gas picked up four-fifths of that. Why? Gas got cheaper. Five times the cost of coal in 2005, on an energy-equivalent basis, that gap was all but erased by booming shale supply (which Trump also backs). Meanwhile, the cost of building new coal plants, already a multiple of that for gas, went up even as it went down for gas (and renewables). Coal's decline was well established by 2015, when former President Barack Obama unveiled his Clean Power Plan — which was never implemented anyway. The problem is straightforward: Coal-power is an old technology outmatched by newer ones. The average coal-plant running today began operating when Jimmy Carter was president. The youngest, Sandy Creek in Texas, came online in 2014. By 2020, its owners were reportedly in debt restructuring talks and the following year the plant tripped offline in Texas' winter blackouts. Utilisation, or the proportion of the year it actually runs, has slumped. The cheapest existing coal plants remain competitive, according to Lazard Inc.'s latest analysis of levelised costs. Yet they are hardly a slam-dunk compared with gas or unsubsidized wind and solar. The latter are intermittent, of course, and securing firm power to back them up, such as contracting with a gas peaker-plant or battery, boosts their cost considerably. Even then, new coal is in a similar cost range — and that is only with the implicit subsidy of spewing unpriced carbon. This shows why rising forecasts of power demand, stoking fears of dark datacenters or blackouts, offer a lifeline to some existing coal plants that would otherwise retire. But this won't catalyze new ones, even when you consider the suddenly rising cost of new gas plants. Utility NextEra Energy Inc. recently cited a levelised cost for new gas-power of $90-$115 per megawatt-hour. That would put it closer to new coal, but there are reasons why there's a backlog for turbines, not for boilers. Gas plants are more efficient than coal, especially in ramping up and down to match shifting demand and output from renewables, and also emit about half as much carbon. The whiplash of US energy policy over the past decade demonstrates why a developer must think in terms of not the next three years but the next 30. Similarly, AI hyperscalers are prioritising sheer speed over net-zero now, but tethering their reputations to coal over the long term would be inadvisable. This is why, for all of coal's vaunted qualities, the Trump administration still tries to tilt the field so heavily toward it and away from renewable competitors. Wright has made extensive use of federal powers to keep coal plants running that might otherwise close or run minimally; roughly a fifth of all such emergency orders since 2000 have been issued this year. Similarly, Wright's decision to pull an agreed $4.9 billion federal loan-guarantee for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express transmission line reeks of politics, rather than the economic analysis his department claims. The project, bringing wind and solar power from the Great Plains to states further east, had secured approval from four states, partly due to expected cost savings, as well as court victories over opponents.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sierra Club: EPA plan to repeal emission standards would ‘put Americans at risk'
The Trump administration's EPA seeks to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards on the power sector. (Photo by Robert Zullo/States Newsroom) Estimates from the Sierra Club found Iowa utilities would be allowed to release 26 million tons of carbon emissions annually, if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a proposal to repeal carbon pollution standards. In its explanation for the proposal, EPA claims greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired plants 'do not contribute significantly' to dangerous air pollution and that removing pollution standards set by the agency under previous administrations would save $19 billion in regulatory costs over two decades. The Sierra Club, which is an environmental organization with chapters across the country, said the power sector is the largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and that exposure to these air pollutants are linked to a higher risk of heart disease, respiratory diseases, pregnancy complications and cancer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'The Trump Administration continues to put the American people at risk by stripping away environmental safeguards proven to clean up the air we breathe and improve public health,' Pam Mackey Taylor, director of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said in a statement. The proposal would repeal regulations put in place in 2015 and in 2024 that put emission guidelines and standards on coal-fired power plants, via Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's proposal argues the Clean Air Act requires the agency to determine, before it issues regulations, that pollutants emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants 'causes, or contributes significantly to, air pollution' that is 'anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.' The current administration argues EPA in the past created regulation standards without this determination. EPA data shows that 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 came from the power sector, which was just slightly less than the transportation sector which accounted for 28% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. In an EPA presentation explaining the rules which were finalized in July 2024, the agency estimated the additional carbon pollution standards would have cut 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other 'harmful air pollutants that are known to endanger public health.' Sierra Club charted the impacts these regulations would have had, state-by-state based on operating coal-powered plants and their estimated closure dates. EPA regulations around carbon pollution standards for the power sector have been challenged in the past, most recently with a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case that repealed part of the 2015 Clean Power Plan emission guidelines. The proposal to repeal the most recent rules alleges Biden-era EPA leadership did not change course following the Supreme Court ruling, but created similar, rules with expanded regulations. Acting under a handful of executive orders from President Donald Trump, and Zeldin's 'Powering the Great American Comeback' initiative, the agency seeks to repeal 'all' greenhouse gas emission standards on the power sector, or alternatively, just the 'most burdensome set of requirements.' The notice said this will 'ensure affordable and reliable energy supplies and drive down the costs of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing while boosting our national security.' The proposal will have a public hearing 15 days after it is published in the Federal Register, where EPA will also accept public comments on the proposed rules 45 days after it is published. Those interested can search for the docket in the federal register with Docket ID number: EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124. 'During the public comment period, we will continue to fight for clean air and protect our communities being harmed by Trump's shortsighted actions,' Mackey Taylor said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, joined by several Republican lawmakers, announced on Wednesday the agency's plan to repeal two landmark power plant emission regulations. During a press conference at EPA headquarters, Zeldin called it "a historic day at the EPA" and said the agency's actions were designed to "both protect the environment and grow the economy." "We are proposing to repeal Obama and Biden rules that have been criticized as regulating coal, oil and gas out of existence—from the so-called Clean Power Plan to the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS," said Zeldin. "Together, if finalized, these actions would result in saving over a billion dollars per year," he said. MORE: Transport of mercury through rivers has risen threefold since Industrial Revolution, new study finds The first rule being targeted by the EPA focuses on carbon emissions, requiring existing coal-fired and new natural gas plants to cut 90% of their carbon pollution using technologies like carbon capture. The second rule strengthened the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), tightening limits on hazardous metals such as mercury from lignite coal-fired power plants. Both rules were part of a broader EPA effort finalized last April to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Zeldin said the EPA will decide if fossil fuel power plants are significant contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and if those emissions are dangerous to public health or the environment, key determinations for rolling back the regulations under the Clean Air Act. Existing coal-fired power plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, according to the EPA, and new natural gas-fired combustion turbines are some of the largest new sources of these emissions being built today. Zeldin said he is not prejudging a decision on the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel power plants and that the repeal is still a proposal and yet to be finalized. Zeldin said the public will have an opportunity to comment on the changes. "We're not eliminating MATS. We're proposing to revise it to remove the gratuitous requirements added by the Biden administration in 2024," said Zeldin. MORE: Trump's policies could impact the environment long after he leaves office, some experts say He added that "If finalized, no power plant will be allowed to emit more than they do today or as much as they did one or two years ago." Zeldin announced in March that the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the previous administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place. In a statement to ABC News, Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator and White House national climate advisor during the Biden administration, wrote "The key rationale Zeldin is using to justify the dismantling of our nation's protections from power plant pollution is absolutely illogical and indefensible." She added, "It's a purely political play that goes against decades of science and policy review. By giving a green light to more pollution, his legacy will forever be someone who does the bidding of the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health." MORE: These are the impacts some scientists fear most from EPA deregulation The current rules require existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution through technologies like carbon capture. An administration regulatory impact analysis conducted during the Biden Administration found that by 2047, this new standard will avoid 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution, the equivalent of 328 million gas-powered cars' annual emissions. They also strengthen Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired plants by tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67% and requiring a 70% reduction in the mercury emissions standard specifically from lignite coal-fired power plants. By 2028, the EPA estimates the new rule will result in 1,000 pounds of mercury emissions reductions in addition to seven tons of other hazardous air pollutant emissions, 770 tons of fine particulate matter pollution and others. The EPA is proposing the repeal of the 2015 and 2024 emissions standards for new and existing fossil-fuel powered plants including rules that govern CO2, mercury and air toxins emissions. The Sierra Club estimates that these changes would allow some power plants to release nearly seven times as much CO2 as they currently put into the atmosphere. The EPA says the changes would lower electricity costs for consumers and increase the supply of energy. MORE: EPA takes aim at water, air and toxics protections as part of massive deregulation campaign Environmental organizations nationwide were quick to express their concerns about the Trump administration's proposal. They've told ABC News that they plan to sue the administration to stop any rollbacks of the pollution standards. In a statement to ABC News, Ryan Maher, an environmental health attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said, "They had to fire hundreds of scientists to advance these destructive policies because they know the facts are indisputable. If these reckless rollbacks are allowed to stand they'll only fan the flames of extreme heat and wildfires, and they'll trigger more child deaths, more cancers, more lung diseases and more heart attacks." The Sierra Club's climate policy director, Patrick Drupp, wrote in a statement to ABC News, "It's completely reprehensible that Donald Trump would seek to roll back these lifesaving standards and do more harm to the American people and our planet just to earn some brownie points with the fossil fuel industry. This repeal means more climate disasters, more heart attacks, more asthma attacks, more birth defects, more premature deaths." "In repealing the carbon standards, Administrator Zeldin is flagrantly disregarding incontrovertible evidence and long-standing precedent, intentionally sidelining EPA from the climate fight and letting fossil fuel companies freely pollute," Julie McNamara, associate director of policy for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a statement to ABC News. "There's no meaningful path to meet U.S. climate goals without addressing carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants—and there's no meaningful path to meet global climate goals without the United States. This repeal would condemn people across the country and around the world to a future of worsening climate impacts and devastating costs." Power plants will not be able to admit any more emissions than they are currently allowed to under the new proposals, an EPA spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday. "Unlike other air pollutants with a regional or local impact, greenhouse gas emissions are global in nature. As a result, any potential public health harms have not been accurately attributed to emissions from the U.S. power sector," the EPA spokesperson said. "In light of this, EPA is proposing that the Clean Air Act requires the agency to make a finding that the targeted emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants significantly contribute to dangerous air pollution before regulating these emissions from this source category." In response to opposition from environmental groups, the EPA spokesperson said, "many of those same groups were ecstatic when the Obama administration implemented the 2012 MATS rule." "Unlike the previous administration that tried to ram through regulations to destroy industries that didn't align with their narrow-minded climate change zealotry, the Trump EPA is committed to EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment," the spokesperson said. MORE: These are the biggest 'anti-environment' policies enacted in Trump's 1st 100 days, according to experts In August 2015, the EPA established the first nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants under a rule known as the "Clean Power Plan." This initiative aimed to position the U.S. as a leader in addressing climate change and to help fulfill international commitments to reduce carbon pollution. The rule required each state to submit a plan to the EPA outlining how it would meet the specified emission reduction targets for its power sector. However, in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to stay the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The order responded to a request from several states, utilities, and other industry groups asking the high court to put the rule on hold while legal challenges were decided in a lower court. On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan final rule and eliminate other federal initiatives addressing climate change. Then in June 2019, the EPA adoped the "Affordable Clean Energy" (ACE) rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. This was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 19, 2021. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Clean Power Plan, ruling that the EPA lacked authority under section 111 of the federal Clean Air Act to require existing power plants to shift generation from more polluting sources to less polluting sources as it had done in the Clean Power Plan. In response, the Biden administration EPA announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants to protect communities from pollution and improve public health in 2024. After President Trump began his second term, Zeldin announced the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the prior administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place. ABC News' Julia Jacobo contirbuted to this report. EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know originally appeared on
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, joined by several Republican lawmakers, announced on Wednesday the agency's plan to repeal two landmark power plant emission regulations. During a press conference at EPA headquarters, Zeldin called it "a historic day at the EPA" and said the agency's actions were designed to "both protect the environment and grow the economy." "We are proposing to repeal Obama and Biden rules that have been criticized as regulating coal, oil and gas out of existence—from the so-called Clean Power Plan to the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS," said Zeldin. "Together, if finalized, these actions would result in saving over a billion dollars per year," he said. MORE: Transport of mercury through rivers has risen threefold since Industrial Revolution, new study finds The first rule being targeted by the EPA focuses on carbon emissions, requiring existing coal-fired and new natural gas plants to cut 90% of their carbon pollution using technologies like carbon capture. The second rule strengthened the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), tightening limits on hazardous metals such as mercury from lignite coal-fired power plants. Both rules were part of a broader EPA effort finalized last April to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Zeldin said the EPA will decide if fossil fuel power plants are significant contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and if those emissions are dangerous to public health or the environment, key determinations for rolling back the regulations under the Clean Air Act. Existing coal-fired power plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, according to the EPA, and new natural gas-fired combustion turbines are some of the largest new sources of these emissions being built today. Zeldin said he is not prejudging a decision on the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel power plants and that the repeal is still a proposal and yet to be finalized. Zeldin said the public will have an opportunity to comment on the changes. "We're not eliminating MATS. We're proposing to revise it to remove the gratuitous requirements added by the Biden administration in 2024," said Zeldin. MORE: Trump's policies could impact the environment long after he leaves office, some experts say He added that "If finalized, no power plant will be allowed to emit more than they do today or as much as they did one or two years ago." Zeldin announced in March that the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the previous administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place. In a statement to ABC News, Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator and White House national climate advisor during the Biden administration, wrote "The key rationale Zeldin is using to justify the dismantling of our nation's protections from power plant pollution is absolutely illogical and indefensible." She added, "It's a purely political play that goes against decades of science and policy review. By giving a green light to more pollution, his legacy will forever be someone who does the bidding of the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health." MORE: These are the impacts some scientists fear most from EPA deregulation The current rules require existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution through technologies like carbon capture. An administration regulatory impact analysis conducted during the Biden Administration found that by 2047, this new standard will avoid 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution, the equivalent of 328 million gas-powered cars' annual emissions. They also strengthen Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired plants by tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67% and requiring a 70% reduction in the mercury emissions standard specifically from lignite coal-fired power plants. By 2028, the EPA estimates the new rule will result in 1,000 pounds of mercury emissions reductions in addition to seven tons of other hazardous air pollutant emissions, 770 tons of fine particulate matter pollution and others. The EPA is proposing the repeal of the 2015 and 2024 emissions standards for new and existing fossil-fuel powered plants including rules that govern CO2, mercury and air toxins emissions. The Sierra Club estimates that these changes would allow some power plants to release nearly seven times as much CO2 as they currently put into the atmosphere. The EPA says the changes would lower electricity costs for consumers and increase the supply of energy. MORE: EPA takes aim at water, air and toxics protections as part of massive deregulation campaign Environmental organizations nationwide were quick to express their concerns about the Trump administration's proposal. They've told ABC News that they plan to sue the administration to stop any rollbacks of the pollution standards. In a statement to ABC News, Ryan Maher, an environmental health attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said, "They had to fire hundreds of scientists to advance these destructive policies because they know the facts are indisputable. If these reckless rollbacks are allowed to stand they'll only fan the flames of extreme heat and wildfires, and they'll trigger more child deaths, more cancers, more lung diseases and more heart attacks." The Sierra Club's climate policy director, Patrick Drupp, wrote in a statement to ABC News, "It's completely reprehensible that Donald Trump would seek to roll back these lifesaving standards and do more harm to the American people and our planet just to earn some brownie points with the fossil fuel industry. This repeal means more climate disasters, more heart attacks, more asthma attacks, more birth defects, more premature deaths." "In repealing the carbon standards, Administrator Zeldin is flagrantly disregarding incontrovertible evidence and long-standing precedent, intentionally sidelining EPA from the climate fight and letting fossil fuel companies freely pollute," Julie McNamara, associate director of policy for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a statement to ABC News. "There's no meaningful path to meet U.S. climate goals without addressing carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants—and there's no meaningful path to meet global climate goals without the United States. This repeal would condemn people across the country and around the world to a future of worsening climate impacts and devastating costs." Power plants will not be able to admit any more emissions than they are currently allowed to under the new proposals, an EPA spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday. "Unlike other air pollutants with a regional or local impact, greenhouse gas emissions are global in nature. As a result, any potential public health harms have not been accurately attributed to emissions from the U.S. power sector," the EPA spokesperson said. "In light of this, EPA is proposing that the Clean Air Act requires the agency to make a finding that the targeted emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants significantly contribute to dangerous air pollution before regulating these emissions from this source category." In response to opposition from environmental groups, the EPA spokesperson said, "many of those same groups were ecstatic when the Obama administration implemented the 2012 MATS rule." "Unlike the previous administration that tried to ram through regulations to destroy industries that didn't align with their narrow-minded climate change zealotry, the Trump EPA is committed to EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment," the spokesperson said. MORE: These are the biggest 'anti-environment' policies enacted in Trump's 1st 100 days, according to experts In August 2015, the EPA established the first nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants under a rule known as the "Clean Power Plan." This initiative aimed to position the U.S. as a leader in addressing climate change and to help fulfill international commitments to reduce carbon pollution. The rule required each state to submit a plan to the EPA outlining how it would meet the specified emission reduction targets for its power sector. However, in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to stay the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The order responded to a request from several states, utilities, and other industry groups asking the high court to put the rule on hold while legal challenges were decided in a lower court. On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan final rule and eliminate other federal initiatives addressing climate change. Then in June 2019, the EPA adoped the "Affordable Clean Energy" (ACE) rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. This was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 19, 2021. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Clean Power Plan, ruling that the EPA lacked authority under section 111 of the federal Clean Air Act to require existing power plants to shift generation from more polluting sources to less polluting sources as it had done in the Clean Power Plan. In response, the Biden administration EPA announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants to protect communities from pollution and improve public health in 2024. After President Trump began his second term, Zeldin announced the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the prior administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place. ABC News' Julia Jacobo contirbuted to this report. EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know originally appeared on
12-06-2025
- Business
EPA proposes rolling back clean air rules for power plants: What to know
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, joined by several Republican lawmakers, announced on Wednesday the agency's plan to repeal two landmark power plant emission regulations. During a press conference at EPA headquarters, Zeldin called it "a historic day at the EPA" and said the agency's actions were designed to "both protect the environment and grow the economy." "We are proposing to repeal Obama and Biden rules that have been criticized as regulating coal, oil and gas out of existence—from the so-called Clean Power Plan to the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS," said Zeldin. "Together, if finalized, these actions would result in saving over a billion dollars per year," he said. The first rule being targeted by the EPA focuses on carbon emissions, requiring existing coal-fired and new natural gas plants to cut 90% of their carbon pollution using technologies like carbon capture. The second rule strengthened the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), tightening limits on hazardous metals such as mercury from lignite coal-fired power plants. Both rules were part of a broader EPA effort finalized last April to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Zeldin said the EPA will decide if fossil fuel power plants are significant contributors of greenhouse gas emissions and if those emissions are dangerous to public health or the environment, key determinations for rolling back the regulations under the Clean Air Act. Existing coal-fired power plants are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, according to the EPA, and new natural gas-fired combustion turbines are some of the largest new sources of these emissions being built today. Zeldin said he is not prejudging a decision on the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel power plants and that the repeal is still a proposal and yet to be finalized. Zeldin said the public will have an opportunity to comment on the changes. "We're not eliminating MATS. We're proposing to revise it to remove the gratuitous requirements added by the Biden administration in 2024," said Zeldin. He added that "If finalized, no power plant will be allowed to emit more than they do today or as much as they did one or two years ago." Zeldin announced in March that the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the previous administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place. In a statement to ABC News, Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator and White House national climate advisor during the Biden administration, wrote "The key rationale Zeldin is using to justify the dismantling of our nation's protections from power plant pollution is absolutely illogical and indefensible." She added, "It's a purely political play that goes against decades of science and policy review. By giving a green light to more pollution, his legacy will forever be someone who does the bidding of the fossil fuel industry at the expense of our health." What do the current EPA emissions rules do? The current rules require existing coal-fired power plants and new natural gas plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution through technologies like carbon capture. An administration regulatory impact analysis conducted during the Biden Administration found that by 2047, this new standard will avoid 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution, the equivalent of 328 million gas-powered cars' annual emissions. They also strengthen Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired plants by tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67% and requiring a 70% reduction in the mercury emissions standard specifically from lignite coal-fired power plants. By 2028, the EPA estimates the new rule will result in 1,000 pounds of mercury emissions reductions in addition to seven tons of other hazardous air pollutant emissions, 770 tons of fine particulate matter pollution and others. What would change if the power plant regulations are rolled back? The EPA is proposing the repeal of the 2015 and 2024 emissions standards for new and existing fossil-fuel powered plants including rules that govern CO2, mercury and air toxins emissions. The Sierra Club estimates that these changes would allow some power plants to release nearly seven times as much CO2 as they currently put into the atmosphere. The EPA says the changes would lower electricity costs for consumers and increase the supply of energy. The impacts of power plant pollution Environmental organizations nationwide were quick to express their concerns about the Trump administration's proposal. They've told ABC News that they plan to sue the administration to stop any rollbacks of the pollution standards. In a statement to ABC News, Ryan Maher, an environmental health attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said, "They had to fire hundreds of scientists to advance these destructive policies because they know the facts are indisputable. If these reckless rollbacks are allowed to stand they'll only fan the flames of extreme heat and wildfires, and they'll trigger more child deaths, more cancers, more lung diseases and more heart attacks." The Sierra Club's climate policy director, Patrick Drupp, wrote in a statement to ABC News, "It's completely reprehensible that Donald Trump would seek to roll back these lifesaving standards and do more harm to the American people and our planet just to earn some brownie points with the fossil fuel industry. This repeal means more climate disasters, more heart attacks, more asthma attacks, more birth defects, more premature deaths." "In repealing the carbon standards, Administrator Zeldin is flagrantly disregarding incontrovertible evidence and long-standing precedent, intentionally sidelining EPA from the climate fight and letting fossil fuel companies freely pollute," Julie McNamara, associate director of policy for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, wrote in a statement to ABC News. "There's no meaningful path to meet U.S. climate goals without addressing carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants—and there's no meaningful path to meet global climate goals without the United States. This repeal would condemn people across the country and around the world to a future of worsening climate impacts and devastating costs." Power plants will not be able to admit any more emissions than they are currently allowed to under the new proposals, an EPA spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Thursday. "Unlike other air pollutants with a regional or local impact, greenhouse gas emissions are global in nature. As a result, any potential public health harms have not been accurately attributed to emissions from the U.S. power sector," the EPA spokesperson said. "In light of this, EPA is proposing that the Clean Air Act requires the agency to make a finding that the targeted emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants significantly contribute to dangerous air pollution before regulating these emissions from this source category." In response to opposition from environmental groups, the EPA spokesperson said, "many of those same groups were ecstatic when the Obama administration implemented the 2012 MATS rule." "Unlike the previous administration that tried to ram through regulations to destroy industries that didn't align with their narrow-minded climate change zealotry, the Trump EPA is committed to EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment," the spokesperson said. Decade-long process In August 2015, the EPA established the first nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants under a rule known as the "Clean Power Plan." This initiative aimed to position the U.S. as a leader in addressing climate change and to help fulfill international commitments to reduce carbon pollution. The rule required each state to submit a plan to the EPA outlining how it would meet the specified emission reduction targets for its power sector. However, in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to stay the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The order responded to a request from several states, utilities, and other industry groups asking the high court to put the rule on hold while legal challenges were decided in a lower court. On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan final rule and eliminate other federal initiatives addressing climate change. Then in June 2019, the EPA adoped the "Affordable Clean Energy" (ACE) rule to replace the Clean Power Plan. This was struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Jan. 19, 2021. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Clean Power Plan, ruling that the EPA lacked authority under section 111 of the federal Clean Air Act to require existing power plants to shift generation from more polluting sources to less polluting sources as it had done in the Clean Power Plan. In response, the Biden administration EPA announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants to protect communities from pollution and improve public health in 2024. After President Trump began his second term, Zeldin announced the EPA would reconsider the regulations on power plants put in place by the previous administration, citing that the prior administration did not have the legal authority to enact the rules in the first place.
