If finalized, the proposed rules would mark the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
The Biden administration on Thursday proposed new carbon pollution standards to restrict greenhouse gas emissions released by fossil fuel-fired power plants — an effort that, if enforced, would significantly further President Joe Biden’s ambitious climate agenda.
Under the rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly all of the United States’ coal and large gas plants would have to reduce or capture almost all — 90% — of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038 or be forced to retire.
The EPA estimated that its proposal would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042, equivalent to reducing the annual emissions of roughly half the cars in the U.S. The rules would prevent 300,000 asthma attacks as well as 1,300 annual premature deaths in 2030, the EPA said.
“By proposing new standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants, EPA is delivering on its mission to reduce harmful pollution that threatens people’s health and wellbeing,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
“EPA’s proposal relies on proven, readily available technologies to limit carbon pollution and seizes the momentum already underway in the power sector to move toward a cleaner future,” Regan said, adding that these policies would cut “climate pollution and other harmful pollutants, protecting people’s health, and driving American innovation.”
If finalized, the proposed regulation would mark the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate about 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, second only to the transportation sector.
Coal currently provides about 20% of U.S. electricity, down from about 45% in 2010. Natural gas provides about 40% of U.S. electricity.
Industry groups have aggressively opposed the proposals. The National Mining Association slammed the rules as “unlawful showmanship,” arguing that they would make it harder for companies to operate given the realities of existing technology.
“Each one of the rules coming from the Biden administration’s EPA is designed to make it impossible for states and utilities to make decisions based on the merits of what keeps the lights on and electricity inflation low, forcing them to make decisions solely based on the EPA’s desire to end coal powered generation in the United States,” the association wrote in a statement.
Ahead of the proposal’s unveiling on Wednesday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, condemned the EPA for what he called its determination to advance the administration’s “radical climate agenda.”
Manchin said he will oppose all EPA nominees “until they halt their government overreach,” adding that the administration has “made it clear they are hellbent on doing everything in their power to regulate coal and gas-fueled power plants out of existence, no matter the cost to energy security and reliability.”
The EPA will take feedback on the proposals for 60 days and hold a virtual public hearing to consider implementation.
Biden has vowed to take action on the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in U.S. history and has pushed to position the nation as a global leader in combating climate change.
In April, ahead of his re-election announcement, Biden signed an executive order to expand on his climate goals, which included establishing an office at the White House to coordinate his administration’s efforts on the issue.