The EPA Wants to Roll Back Emissions Controls on Power Plants
1 min read
Summary
US president Joe Biden’s administration has moved to roll back emissions standards for power plants, lowering the targets for reducing emissions from coal and gas plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claimed in a proposal on Wednesday that the American power sector does not “contribute significantly” to air pollution.
The rules, put in place by the Biden administration last year, had mandated coal and gas plants reduce emissions by 90% by the early 2030s.
The proposal has been criticised by experts, with Ryan Maher, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, saying “the EPA is trying to get out of the climate change business”.
The EPA will also target the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule, which controls the amount of mercury and toxic air pollutants power plants can emit.
The move is part of a wider effort by the administration to reduce the regulatory powers of the EPA.
It comes ahead of NOAA’s release of figures showing a new historical high in seasonal concentration of CO2.
