EPA to repeal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it will roll back emissions limits on coal- and gas-fired power plants — one of the Trump administration’s most significant moves yet to undo the climate policies enacted under Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

The change would overturn a 2024 rule requiring power plants to use carbon sequestration equipment to control pollution; it was one of the biggest climate change rules implemented by the Biden administration’s EPA.

The agency also proposed eliminating all other greenhouse gas emissions rules, arguing that under the Clean Air Act, it doesn’t have the authority to regulate those emissions as they pertain to climate change.

In February, the EPA similarly repealed emissions rules for vehicles, which account for the most pollution in the U.S. today. The agency repealed greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles, as well as the legal conclusion that underpins its obligation to regulate such emissions in the first place, known as the endangerment finding. The moves announced Monday would essentially do the same thing for power plants, which are the second-biggest source of U.S. emissions.

If the newly announced rollbacks survive the expected legal challenges, they could prevent future administrations from requiring coal and…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business