US EPA scraps greenhouse gas rules for coal and gas power plants

The US Environmental Protection Agency has repealed the 2024 greenhouse gas rules for coal and gas-fired power plants, part of a broader climate rollback under the Trump administration. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the move at a G20 meeting in Houston, saying it would lower electricity prices and end what he called a war on coal. The agency also wants to remove all remaining GHG requirements for power plants, arguing current law does not give it authority to regulate emissions based on climate change. Legal challenges are expected. The scrapped rules required coal plants to cut emissions sharply or shut down by 2039, and the EPA previously rescinded the 2009 Endangerment Finding that classified carbon dioxide as a public health threat. The outcome will likely be decided in court, with major implications for US power sector emissions and the pace of coal retirements.