The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Monday, the official repeal of Biden-era regulations that placed strict carbon emission limits on fossil fuel-fired power plants.
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According to Just the News, the new rule completely repeals the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which mandated that coal and new gas-fired power plants capture 90 percent of their smokestack emissions or face shut down.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin projects the rollback will save the utility and energy sector over $300 billion in compliance and technology costs.
The Trump EPA just announced the largest deregulatory action EVER for the U.S. power sector, unleashing American energy dominance, ramping up reliable and affordable baseload power, securing American energy jobs, and delivering warm homes in the winter and cool homes in the…
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) September 14, 2026
Zeldin said, “Today, we are reversing an unworkable mandate and restoring the regulatory efficiency required to ensure the long-term reliability of our nation’s power grid.”
Zeldin told ABC News the Biden-era pollution rules were designed to “suffocate our economy in order to protect the environment” with the intent to regulate the coal industry “out of existence.”
The latest actions would ensure affordable and reliable energy supplies and drive down the costs of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing while boosting our national security.
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ESG Today reports that alongside the repeal, the agency proposed rescinding the foundational findings for power sector greenhouse gas emissions, potentially blocking future administrations from easily reinstating similar caps.
The action drew strong contrast between industry supporters and environmental activists with CBS reporting that groups like the Environmental Defense Fund and Evergreen Action, criticized the rollback as a massive blow to climate progress and public health.
Meanwhile the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said in a statement:
We appreciate the administration’s action today to roll back portions of the Biden-era power plant greenhouse gas rule, which is unlawful, unrealistic and unachievable. As demand for electricity skyrockets, America’s electric grid needs every available electron. While today’s action is a major step and allows electric co-ops to continue operating their existing power plants, Biden-era limits on new natural gas plants remain in place.
The association contends that pollution limits were harming America’s electric grid by forcing critical existing power plants into early retirement and severely restricting the operation of new natural gas plants.
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