US Revokes Limits on Power Plants' Climate Pollution

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is repealing the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for coal and gas-fired power plants, effectively eliminating most federal limits on carbon emissions from the nation’s second-largest greenhouse gas source. The 2024 rule had required existing coal plants and new gas plants to capture 90 percent of carbon emissions or shut down by 2039, a requirement projected to cut 1.38 billion metric tons of CO2 through 2047 and to lower emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter. The prior rule was estimated to prevent 1,200 deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in 2035 alone; the EPA now says repealing it will save businesses $370 million in regulatory costs and has stopped counting health costs in its economic impact estimates. In 2025 the agency revoked its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, and it now proposes removing all remaining greenhouse gas requirements for power plants while asserting those emissions do not affect climate change.

The repeal is presented as one of the most significant rollbacks of federal climate protection, undermining regulatory authority to address the climate crisis and protect communities harmed by industrial pollution. Research cited shows coal-fired plants and related pollutants drive dangerous air quality and health harms in nearby communities domestically and internationally. The argument concludes that the EPA should restore the 2024 standards and strengthen oversight of the fossil fuel industry to prevent increased pollution and resultant health impacts.