Technology and Science · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Trump Administration Repeals Biden-Era Power Plant Carbon Rules Ahead of Houston G20
EPA to repeal Biden-era carbon limits for coal- and gas-fired power plants. Administration says rollback will cut industry costs and 'unleash' American energy.
Whether the main point is cost savings or EPA legal authority.
7 of 8 outlets skipped it: 2024 standard projected 1.38 billion tonnes CO2 reduction by 2047.
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France 24
“These noted that the technical repeal, at least in the draft phase, stated that the EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouse emissions”Read the original ↗
France 24 foregrounds legal contradictions in EPA authority, while The Washington Post foregrounds savings claims for electricity bills.
EPA set to repeal limits
The Trump administration plans to repeal Biden-era rules that limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, a move the Washington Post says Lee Zeldin will frame as helping reduce the cost of Americans’ electricity bills.
“Lee Zeldin, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency administrator, said the change would help reduce the cost of Americans’ electricity bills”
The change is expected to be announced Monday during a meeting of energy ministers from the Group of 20 in Houston, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg as cited by France 24.F
France 24 reports the rollback would both scrap 2024 Biden rules requiring coal and gas power plants to eliminate nearly all their carbon emissions and go further by proposing to prevent future regulations.F
France 24 says the first part is a technical repeal under the Clean Air Act that would require up to a 90 percent reduction in carbon dioxide pollution over time, while the second part would seek to strip the EPA of authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector at all.F
In a draft rule described by France 24, the EPA argued the 2024 standards were impossible to meet and that the deadlines were too tight.F
Legal fight and competing claims
Environmental and public health groups called the rollbacks dangerous and vowed to challenge the rules in court, with Vickie Patton of the Environmental Defence Fund saying, "Tearing down our national protections against climate pollution from power plants will have enormous costs for the health, safety and well-being of families across the country," according to Business Day.
Business Day also reports the rule change could prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, and says the EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
France 24 quotes Meredith Hankins, a legal expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, saying the two moves had contradictory legal justifications and adding, "We'll have to look at the final text of the rule," while also warning, "So I'm certainly looking forward to seeing them in court."F
France 24 says Trump often calls human-induced climate change "a hoax," and that his policy rollbacks have included withdrawing the United States once more from the Paris climate accord and eliminating greenhouse gas standards for vehicle tailpipe emissions.F
In the same AFP account, Hankins said the administration is ignoring impacts people feel every day, telling AFP, "Our government is ignoring the reality all around us that people are feeling every day of the impacts of climate change, and just putting their heads in the sand".
What’s at stake next
The Morning Call, citing AP, says the EPA is set to roll back rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, and that the move could be announced as soon as Monday.
“help to “unleash” American energy”
The Morning Call reports Lee Zeldin said the action would remove billions of dollars in costs for the industry and help "unleash" American energy, while also warning the rule could face legal challenges and could prevent future administrations from regulating emissions from power plants.
The Morning Call adds that the rules targeted by the Trump administration could prevent about 30,000 deaths and save $275 billion annually, according to an Associated Press review from last year that included prior assessments by the agency itself and a wide range of other research.
In the same AP account, Vickie Patton said, "People across the United States are already suffering from record heat, floods and more dangerous storms, and skyrocketing insurance costs," as she argued the EPA has a legal obligation to protect the public from unhealthy pollution.
France 24 frames the stakes as a broader shift in how the EPA justifies regulation, reporting that the second part of the package would build on the government’s February decision to overturn the 2009 Endangerment Finding, the scientific determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.F