By Valerie Volcovici, Georgina McCartney and Ernest Scheyder
WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced rules to repeal former President Joe Biden’s limits on carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants and to prevent future climate-focused regulations of those facilities.
The move is part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to unwind U.S. climate policy that his administration says has hindered energy production.
The announcement was made on the sidelines of a gathering of G20 energy ministers this week in Houston, where the global officials will discuss energy security, expanding baseload power and “regulatory efficiency.”
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said new moves to prevent future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector will enable the U.S. to build new generating infrastructure needed to meet skyrocketing electricity demand.
“Americans have been demanding more common sense at federal agencies under President Trump’s leadership,” he said at a press conference in Houston. “That means cutting red tape so we can build new power-generating infrastructure.”
Environmental groups slammed the new proposal, saying it would cost more than that in damage to the environment and public health. The electricity sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution.
Last June, Trump’s administration issued its proposal to repeal rules written under Biden to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, mercury and other air pollutants from power plants.
Biden’s carbon emission rules for power plants would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons by 2047, part of his administration’s fight against climate change.
The rule would have required coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired generators to install equipment in the coming decade to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere. That requirement made zero-emissions alternatives like solar and wind more attractive.
“Denying the existence of a quarter of the country’s climate pollution is utterly reckless. It will lead to more lost lives and suffering from intense heatwaves, drastic storms and destructive wildfires, just like those we’ve seen this summer,” said Maggie Coulter, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, on Monday.
Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit told reporters that the new rules would lift up coal-fired electricity, which had been declining steadily in the U.S. due to the availability of cheaper natural gas and renewable energy.
“President Trump ended the war on beautiful, clean coal,” he said. “Coal is reliable, affordable, secure.”
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Andrea Ricci and David Gregorio)
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