The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed it is preparing a proposal to eliminate all federal limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants. The draft regulation, currently under interagency review, is expected to be published following internal government consultations.
In a statement issued on Saturday, an EPA spokesperson said the agency was responding to concerns that existing and previous regulations may have overreached in their efforts to regulate emissions. “Many have voiced concerns that the last administration’s replacement for that rule is similarly overreaching and an attempt to shut down affordable and reliable electricity generation in the United States, raising prices for American families, and increasing the country’s reliance on foreign forms of energy,” the spokesperson said. “As part of this reconsideration, EPA is developing a proposed rule.”
The New York Times first reported the draft proposal, noting that the EPA argues in the new regulation that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuel power plants “do not contribute significantly to dangerous pollution” or climate change, citing their status as a “small and declining share” of global emissions.
The agency also contends that eliminating such emissions would have “no meaningful effect on public health and welfare”, the report added—claims that contradict widespread scientific consensus and international climate assessments.
The United Nations has stated unequivocally that fossil fuels are the leading drivers of climate change, accounting for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions.
The move reflects a broader shift in US environmental policy under President Donald Trump. His administration has advanced measures to curtail green-energy subsidies and eliminate regulations introduced under former president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
On Thursday, the US House of Representatives advanced Trump’s expansive tax and spending bill, which proposes ending numerous renewable energy incentives and revoking grants aimed at reducing air pollution and carbon emissions or purchasing electric heavy-duty vehicles. Trump has described the legislation as “one big beautiful bill”.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, appointed under Trump, said: “We continue to build on that progress now.”
