Trump EPA to Drop Federal CO2 Limits for Power Plants, Reversing 2024 Rules

The Trump administration is expected to announce that the EPA will formally remove federal greenhouse gas limits for coal- and gas-fired power plants. The move overturns the Biden-era 2024 rules that required existing coal plants to install carbon capture or close by 2039, and pushed new gas plants toward hydrogen or other cleaner fuels. The EPA had already revoked its 2009 Endangerment Finding earlier in 2026, which removed the legal basis for regulating CO2 under the Clean Air Act. Power plants will still face limits on conventional pollutants like mercury and arsenic, but carbon dioxide restrictions would be stripped away. The administration argues this will lower electricity costs and support rising demand from data centers and manufacturing. Environmental groups warn it locks in high emissions from the second-largest source of US greenhouse gases. The rollback does not erase state-level climate rules. New York and California, among others, plan to keep their own carbon limits and clean energy targets. That leaves a divided national energy market where utilities face different requirements depending on where they operate, and likely sets up legal fights over the revocation of the Endangerment Finding.