Trump’s EPA repeals Democratic-led greenhouse gas requirements

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans Monday to roll back greenhouse gas regulations for U.S. power plants at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston. The new proposal marks an overturning of most of the standards established to target carbon emissions during the administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden—with an additional suggestion to rescind all remaining greenhouse gas emission guidelines for the power sector.

Zeldin said Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices due to the repeals, but added that was just the beginning in a Monday statement. The announcement also said that finalizing the proposal will save families and businesses billions in addition to preserving $370 million in direct compliance costs, which are expenses companies use to follow government regulations.

What does this mean for the power sector? These latest emission guidelines being overturned are the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards. Specifically, Trump’s EPA will repeal the standards for existing fossil fuel steam generating unit emissions, and the carbon capture and storage standards for coal units and for combustion turbines.

What does the legislative branch think? Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle quickly took to social media to express their thoughts on the new proposal. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas., called the move a major victory for American energy while Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the Trump administration is jeopardizing both Americans’ health and the environment to pay off corporate polluters and loosen the laws for data centers.

The EPA said it will hold a virtual public hearing for the proposal to rescind further greenhouse gas emission standards. The agency said updates regarding the hearing can be found here.

Dig Deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on the EPA’s recently announced plan to track abortion drugs in drinking water across the country.