he Trump administration will propose scrapping Biden-era climate mandates requiring the nation’s power plants to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions as soon as Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Environmental Protection Agency is also set to advance a plan for unwinding limits on mercury and other toxic air pollution from the facilities, said the people, who asked not to be named because the measures aren’t yet public.
The proposals, which are among the administration’s most substantial deregulatory moves yet, would repeal EPA limits on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from coal-fired and natural gas power plants, said the people. Former President Joe Biden had imposed the restrictions that effectively compel the use of carbon capture technology to curb planet-warming pollution.
The EPA also plans to repeal stringent standards limiting the emission of mercury, particulate matter and other pollutants that necessitate the installation of costly pollution controls at coal-fired power plants.
The moves, which will be subject to a public comment period before they can be finalized, come as the Trump administration prioritizes the expansion of domestic energy development, citing a massive surge in power demand from artificial intelligence. Opponents of the Biden-era limits have argued the mandates would unnecessarily shutter coal-power plants and discourage the construction of new gas-fired facilities.
Industry and environmental stakeholders expect the administration to assert that repealing the greenhouse gas emission curbs would have no meaningful impact on public health and welfare since planet-warming pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants generate only a small share of emissions. President Donald Trump vowed to “terminate” those requirements while campaigning last year.
