Energy Savings

The war on actual energy is over:

The proposed rollback would eliminate caps on carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants and future natural gas plants, as well as relax limits on mercury and other toxic air pollutants. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a news conference that Biden-era carbon pollution standards for power plants “suffocate” the economy in order to protect the environment. Zeldin, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in January, stated that the agency’s announcement was a huge step forward in energy dominance for the U.S., while promising that no power plants would emit more than they already do. Currently, the power sector accounts for a quarter of all U.S. emissions, according to the latest EPA emissions data. The proposed repeals are two of the most consequential moves from Trump’s EPA as the administration continues dismantling Biden-era climate and clean energy policies. The reversal means that power plants that were slated to be retired will now continue running. The agency didn’t announce any intent to rewrite regulations to replace the Biden rules on carbon emissions, which could effectively leave carbon emissions from US power plants unregulated if the proposed repeal is finalized. Zeldin announced the agency will revise the rule on mercury and other toxic air pollution, proposing to get rid of a Biden-era rule finalized last year. Power plants are the second-biggest emitters of planet-warming pollution in the United States, making up around a quarter of the country’s climate pollution. US power plants alone contribute 3% of total global climate pollution. By seeking to repeal the carbon rules with no replacement, the administration’s proposal is more sweeping than the power plant regulations finalized during Trump’s first term, Carrie Jenks, the executive director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program, told CNN. It would result in aging coal plants operating for longer periods of time and allow new gas plants to be built with looser pollution restrictions, Jenks said. “You’re starting to see coal fired power plants that were expected to retire continue to operate,” Jenks added. Zeldin officially declared the end to the Biden era war on the American energy industry.

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