In September 2026, the Trump administration's EPA announced it would repeal greenhouse gas emission limits for fossil fuel power plants. The move eliminates Biden-era rules that required existing coal plants and new natural gas plants to cut carbon dioxide pollution starting in the 2030s. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called the action the largest deregulatory step for the US power sector in history. Power plants are the second largest source of US carbon emissions after transportation. Environmental groups plan to sue, arguing the repeal will worsen climate pollution and harm public health. The legal history is tangled: the Obama Clean Power Plan never took effect, the Supreme Court narrowed EPA authority in 2022, and the Biden rules were still being challenged when they were repealed. For carbon markets and clean energy observers, the repeal shifts the policy baseline but not the economics. Utility-scale solar and wind remain cheaper than coal and gas according to Lazard, and coal retirements have continued under both administrations. The bigger risk is that the repeal makes it harder to reach the 2035 clean power goal and invites a new round of litigation.
