The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing the strictest limits yet on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants, in an effort to tackle planet-warming pollution. The new rules, set to be unveiled this week, would require power plants to capture smokestack emissions. The regulation would be the first limit on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which account for about 25% of US greenhouse gas pollution. It would apply to new facilities too, and could avoid 617 million metric tons of CO2 through 2042, equivalent to annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles, the EPA said.
The EPA proposes that all coal and large frequently used gas-fired power plants will have to cut or capture nearly all their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038. If a facility doesn’t meet the new requirements, it will be closed. In 2016, 60% of America’s electricity came from 3,400 coal and gas-fired power plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
These new rules will give plant operators flexibility to meet the new standards in a method of their choosing, and instead of prescribing one limit that all power plants must meet, the agency will set a range of targets based on the size of the plant, how often it is used, and whether it is already scheduled for retirement.
Everyone is putting the heat on Biden. Its efforts to tackle global warming have been met with criticism from environmentalists, who are unhappy with the state’s approval of Alaska’s Willow Oil Project. Climate activists have also demanded more from the president in his effort to tackle the climate crisis.
The power plant rule is one of several EPA rules limiting power plant emissions and wastewater treatment and comes after the strict new tailpipe pollution limits were announced. The Biden administration had previously outlined guidelines to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas wells.
The new limits are likely to be challenged by industry groups and Republican-leaning states, who argue that the proposals overreach on environmental regulations. However, supporters of the rules argue that they are crucial to meeting President Joe Biden’s goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and eliminating carbon emissions from the power grid by 2035.
