“Cruel Disregard for People’s Health”—EPA Repeals Power Plant Carbon Standards, Proposes Eliminating Its Authority to Regulate Heat-trapping Emissions from Coal and Gas Plants

WASHINGTON (September 14, 2026)-Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a far-reaching repeal of carbon dioxide emissions standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants. It also issued a supplementary proposal to entirely remove its authority to regulate the power sector's heat-trapping emissions. Coal- and gas-fired power plants are the United States' largest stationary source of such health-harming emissions. Globally, the United States is the second-largest contributor of annual heat-trapping emissions, and the largest historical emitter.

Below is a statement by Dr. Rachel Cleetus, senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

"With today's actions, Administrator Zeldin is not only rolling back urgently needed and long overdue standards to limit power plant carbon emissions, he is also brazenly asserting EPA has no role or responsibility to limit these harmful emissions. Once again, the Trump administration is prioritizing fossil fuel industry profits while saddling the public with the costly and harmful consequences of carbon pollution.

"EPA's abdication of its responsibility to protect people from the health impacts of power plants' heat-trapping emissions is at complete odds with the Clean Air Act, an established law, and the latest science. Administrator Zeldin's zealous undertaking of the administration's campaign of attacking science, subverting EPA's mission, and spreading disinformation about the realities of fossil fuel-driven climate change is reaching new lows.

"These rulemakings are riddled with logical and factual inconsistencies, among the worst of which is the patently false argument that we have to choose between our health and our prosperity. That such enormously consequential actions are so carelessly reasoned is all the more indefensible given the very real health, climate, and economic harms that come from allowing coal and gas-fired power plants to pollute with impunity-especially as the nation confronts a surging crush of new gas plants serving an unchecked data center buildout.

"The Trump administration is showing a cruel disregard for people's health and well-being even as worsening extreme heatwaves, wildfires, drought and floods afflict millions of people across the United States annually and drive billions of dollars in costs. And despite its cynical claims to the contrary, this administration is actively exacerbating people's energy affordability challenges at every turn. Congress must push back on these damaging actions."

Earlier this year, EPA repealed the science-based Endangerment Finding, which established that global warming emissions endanger public health and the environment, in the context of the vehicle emissions standards, a move that UCS has challenged in court alongside many other environmental, public health and science groups.

Today's EPA actions are happening shortly after NOAA announced the United States experienced its hottest summer on record and United Nations Environment Programme released a report saying that breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming is now inevitable because of insufficient climate action to date.

The Trump administration has also taken a vast array of harmful actions that contribute to soaring electricity bills and force taxpayers and consumers to take on costs of massive coal bailouts that will lead to higher costs, less reliable power and a worse climate and health.

Additional UCS Resources:

• Blog post on EPA's power plant carbon standards repeal
• Blog post on Trump administration actions that are raising electricity bills
• Blog post detailing EPA's widespread slashing of pollution protections, including for gas turbines, mercury standards, Clean Air Act exemptions
• Blog post on the EPA's endangerment finding repeal
• Testimony from Dr. Cleetus on EPA endangerment finding repeal
• Blog post on the EPA halting the use of the social cost of carbon
• Blog post on proposed EPA rule to eliminate carbon emissions reporting