Trump's Trials - EPA rolls back Biden-era rules for power plants that limit greenhouse gas emissions

Episode Date: September 15, 2026

The EPA announced Monday its repealing limits on greenhouse gas emissions that come from power plants. NPR's Julia Simon reports.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and this is Trump's terms from NPR. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's coverage of the Trump administration with a focus on actions and policies that take the presidency into uncharted territory. Here's the latest from NPR. From NPR news, I'm Lela Falded. The Trump administration is repealing limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and natural gas power plants. Power plans are the second largest source of planet heating carbon dioxide in the U.S. the Biden administration had finalized rules limiting climate pollution from plants that use fossil fuels.

NPR's Julia Simon reports on the reversal. On Monday afternoon, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin took the stage in Houston at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Summit. Standing in front of a sign with pictures of oil pump jacks, he was there to talk about power plants. Today we are cutting the red tape to deliver the largest power sector deregulatory. reaction ever. He said the EPA is getting rid of Biden-era rules for power plants. Those rules would have required coal and new natural gas plants to install pollution control equipment. That would have significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions starting in the 2030s. And Zeldon says the EPA will rescind the remaining greenhouse gas emission standards for power plants. All of them.

Zeldon says the actions will save American businesses and families, billions of dollars, and he wants the U.S. to use more coal and more natural gas, which he calls affordable. But according to an analysis by a financial services firm Lazzard, electricity from large-scale solar and wind is actually more affordable than power from both coal and natural gas plants. And Goodwin Thompson, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, says the EPA proposal also has public health costs. She says it would increase harmful pollutants. like ground level ozone or smog. And while the EPA said in its announcement that, quote, greenhouse gas emissions from power plants have no material impact on climate change, energy and climate experts tell NPR that is false.

Michael Gerard, an environmental law professor at Columbia University, says the U.S. should be reducing climate pollution, not allowing more emissions. 2006 is shaping up to be the warmest year in recorded history. And we ain't seen nothing yet. Gerard says environmental groups will likely challenge this in court. Julia Simon, NPR News. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages.

You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.