EPA bid to scrap climate endangerment finding reshapes power-sector rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's move to erase its 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gases would strip federal limits from coal and gas plants even as utilities keep chasing cheaper wind and solar power.

Jason Plautz reports for E&E News.

In short:

• EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin proposes voiding the 2009 endangerment finding, removing EPA’s mandate to curb power-plant carbon.
• Utilities already lean toward wind and solar because of cost, suggesting the rule change may not slow coal retirements.
• Scrapping the finding could reopen nuisance lawsuits and force companies to navigate uneven state climate laws.

Key quote:

“We have enough cheap wind and solar available that there’s no economic reason to prop up inefficient old coal power plants, despite what regulations say.”

— Catherine Hausman, associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan

Why this matters:

Greenhouse gases stay in the air for centuries, trapping heat that drives stronger storms, longer heat waves, and costly coastal floods. Power plants are America’s second-largest source of that pollution, after transportation, so the standards in question underpin much of the nation’s climate response. Repealing them would shift the burden to states, many of which lack the staff or political will to act, and could stall investment in cleaner technology just as electricity demand surges from electric cars and data centers. Higher emissions also mean more soot and smog, hazards linked to asthma attacks, heart disease, and premature births, especially in communities already squeezed by highways and industrial sites.

Read more: Environmental groups scramble as Trump dismantles climate rules in second term