The Environmental Protection Agency said Monday, September 14, 2026, that it is repealing rules limiting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants and proposed a separate measure intended to restrict future regulation. The repeal is to take effect soon after publication in the Federal Register and is expected to face immediate legal challenges.
The EPA said revoking the Biden-era power plant rule would save industry more than $300 billion and help “unleash” American energy. EPA Assistant Administrator Aaron Szabo said the change would allow utilities to make decisions for ratepayers based on costs and savings instead of being required to close facilities.
Environmental groups opposed the change, saying it would harm Americans’ health and further degrade the environment. They are also likely to challenge the separate rule proposed Monday, which could prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and is expected to be finalized next year.
The proposal follows the EPA’s earlier revocation of a scientific finding that had long served as the central basis for federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. That February action eliminated greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks; the new plan would apply similar reasoning to stationary sources, including power plants.
The changes mark a fundamental departure from efforts under Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama to regulate carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases. President Donald Trump’s administration has also withdrawn the United States, for a second time, from the 2015 Paris climate accord, which establishes voluntary goals for curbing planet-warming emissions.
The announcements coincided with a G20 ministerial meeting on “energy abundance” in Houston hosted by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright. They came as the Iran war continued to disrupt global fuel markets and U.S. gasoline prices exceeded $4.31 a gallon, more than a dollar higher than a year earlier.