-
Click here to listen to this article -
- The Environmental Protection Agency is abandoning federal limits on planet-warming pollution from coal and gas power plants, dismantling most Biden-era climate rules in the name of lowering energy costs.
asserted
Agency → click → costs
- Experts warn the rollback could add up to 5.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and trigger hundreds of billions in health damages from pollution-driven disease and premature deaths.
uncertain
rollback → warn → disease
- California has phased out coal and has its own regulations on natural gas plants but remains vulnerable.
asserted
California → phase → plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday it will no longer regulate planet-warming pollution from power plants that burn coal or natural gas.
asserted
that → say → coal
The nation’s top environmental authority is rolling back most Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to remove “red tape” that drives up energy costs, agency officials said.
asserted
officials → roll → costs
They also announced a proposal to rescind regulations on the power sector from the Obama era and prevent future administrations from implementing new ones.
asserted
They → announce → ones
Making electricity from coal and gas is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and the leading driver of climate change globally.
asserted
Making → make → change
“For over 15 years, the Obama and Biden administrations implemented a war on coal to destroy reliable and affordable energy,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.
asserted
Zeldin → implement → statement
“The Trump Administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on.”
asserted
you → come → lights
But experts say unchecked greenhouse gas emissions from power plants mean more global warming and set back progress on climate change across the U.S.
asserted
emissions → say → U.S.
California does not have any coal-fired power plants and has its own regulations on natural gas.
asserted
California → have → gas
The rollback could result in as much as 5.8 billion metric tons of added carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, said Zealan Hoover, a former senior advisor to the EPA administrator in the Biden administration.
uncertain
Hoover → result → administration
While electricity demand is rising, “we do not have to meet that electricity demand by highly polluting coal and gas plants,” Hoover said.
asserted
Hoover → rise → plants
“And when we do run coal and gas plants, we have the option to hold them to a high public health standard.
asserted
we → run → standard
This administration is choosing to cut those standards.”
asserted
administration → choose → standards
The 2009 endangerment finding affirms that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and welfare.
asserted
dioxide → affirm → health
Its repeal marks one of the most significant deregulatory actions in U.S. history.
asserted
repeal → mark → history
The Biden administration’s rules would have required some coal plants to make major cuts in their emissions, in some cases by installing carbon-capture technology, changing how they operate or eventually retiring.
asserted
they → require → technology
They would also have required future natural gas plants to meet strict emissions standards, which they could achieve by converting to cleaner-burning fuels such as hydrogen.
uncertain
they → require → hydrogen
EPA officials now say the technology is not sufficiently available.
asserted
technology → say → ?
Besides the climate disturbance, which affects everyone, Monday’s rollback will most directly affect people who live near coal plants, which California has already phased out, and people who live near gas plants in states that don’t have their own regulations.
asserted
that → affect → regulations
California requires 90% of electricity to be zero-carbon by 2035 and 100% to be so by 2045.
asserted
% → require → 2045
That would eliminate natural gas in the power sector.
asserted
That → eliminate → sector
California Air Resources Board spokesperson Lindsay Buckley said the Trump administration’s decision “has no effect on California’s rules and greenhouse gases from the state’s power plants are still regulated under Cap-and-Invest.”
asserted
gases → say → Cap
The latter regulation is the state’s backstop climate trading program that puts an ever-stricter cap on emissions across sectors and allows polluting businesses to buy and trade allowances to meet it.
asserted
businesses → put → it
Californians will still feel the effects of Monday’s decisions.
asserted
Californians → feel → decisions
“Some of these coal-fired power plants are some of the biggest carbon polluters in the U.S. if not the world,” said Ethan Elkind, director of the UC Berkeley School of Law’s climate program.
asserted
Elkind → fire → program
“It doesn’t directly affect California’s own state goals for decarbonizing our electricity sector, but removing environmental protections on those plants means that we’re going to be worsening climate change which definitely affects California.”
asserted
which → affect → California
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday that the agency plans to roll back rules regulating mercury air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
asserted
agency → say → plants
EPA officials said on a call Monday that the change will not include pollutants that directly harm health such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which are regulated separately.
asserted
which → say → monoxide
They argued that the 2024 rules established by the Biden administration — which set stringent standards for fossil fuel plants — were a “direct attempt to shift America away from affordable energy” in violation of the Clean Air Act.
asserted
which → argue → Act
In all, they said the action will save $310 billion for the power sector, primarily by avoiding costs to comply with the stricter rules and other forced investments.
asserted
action → say → rules
But Hoover, the former Biden administration advisor, said those calculations omit how much the country would have saved in avoided healthcare costs.
asserted
country → say → costs
Increased pollution from coal and gas plants will cause hundreds of billions of dollars in negative health impacts from asthma, heart and lung disease and premature deaths, among other outcomes, he said.
asserted
he → increase → outcomes
“I reject the premise that you have to choose between clean air and abundant energy,” he said.
asserted
he → reject → air
“It’s actually the Trump administration that has been sabotaging affordable clean energy at every turn since taking office — they are intentionally choosing to promote sources of energy that make us sicker, and also in many cases cost more.”
asserted
us → ’ → more
Supporters meanwhile applauded the plan.
asserted
Supporters → applaud → plan
“The power plant rules finalized by the previous administration set unachievable timelines for implementation and threatened the nation’s grid reliability,” said Jay Timmons, president and chief executive of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, a large trade group.
asserted
Timmons → finalize → Manufacturers
“Manufacturers thank EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for listening to the concerns of our industry and taking action to enhance manufacturers’ access to America’s abundant energy resources.
asserted
Manufacturers → thank → resources
The EPA’s action is part of a series of steps to roll back regulatory protections over the last two years, including dismantling rules on pollution from cars, limits on mercury and other air toxics from power plants, and the federal government’s formal affirmation that climate change is harmful to human health and welfare, known as the endangerment finding.
asserted
change → roll → finding
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
