The Trump administration has submitted a final rule to the White House for review that would repeal the 2024 greenhouse gas standards for coal and gas fired power plants. These previous standards required certain plants to implement carbon capture technology to reduce emissions. This move follows the EPA's decision to overturn the 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health. The repeal is a primary deregulatory goal and is expected to be finalized in the coming months.
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Removing the endangerment finding is the real move here. Without that, the EPA loses its primary legal hook to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act. It makes the repeal much harder to challenge in court.
True, but does this actually keep old coal plants online? Most are dying because of fuel costs and renewables, not just regulations. I wonder if the operators will even bother with the CAPEX for carbon capture now.
Basically the 2024 rules are being wiped. This means no more federal pressure on gas and coal plants to hit carbon capture targets. Big shift for anyone betting on CCS deployment timelines.
It creates a huge gap in the national strategy. If the federal government stops pushing, we are just relying on state level mandates or market forces to drive decarbonization.
