Opponent groups, as expected, responded quickly, with the American Health Association, American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council and Clean Wisconsin on Sept. 17 asking the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. to determine whether the actions violate the Clean Air Act. 

"Repealing these standards without a replacement is an abdication of EPA's legal responsibility to protect public health and the environment," Meredith Hankins, NRDC federal climate legal director said in a stateement..

The final rule revokes the 2024 carbon pollution standards for power plants established during the Biden administration. EPA says that removing the 2024 standards will save $310 billion in utility compliance costs, and rescinding all carbon reduction requirements in the power sector could save an added $370 billion. 

The proposed rule will be open for 45 days of public comment after publication in the Federal Register.  

EPA contends that the Biden and Obama administrations exceeded their authority under the federal Clean Air Act by requiring control technologies that “are not adequately demonstrated …effectively forcing plants to retire rather than setting standards [utilities] could actually meet.” 

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Climate emission reduction standards for coal- and gas-fired plants during both the Obama and Biden years relied heavily on carbon capture and sequestration technology to curb emissions at fossil fuel plants. 

Proponents of the technology take a different view than the administration. 

"Carbon capture and storage deployment at power generation facilities is an available, effective way to address emissions from the growing U.S. power sector, as evidenced by the 30 carbon capture and storage projects under development at power facilities in the United States,” said Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition. 

EPA previously termed the US power sector as the nation's largest stationary source of greenhouse gas emissions, comprising 23% of the U.S. total in 2023, the agency under the Trump administration no longer inventories those. But according to January data from research firm Rhodium Group, sector emissions rose 3.8% in 2025, the second consecutive annual increase since 2012.

The latest EPA action is part of the administration’s strategy to boost fossil fuel production, particularly coal, by removing any obstacles to continued operation and development of new coal- and gas-fired plants. In February, EPA rescinded the endangerment finding, the legal basis for regulating climate emissions. The agency said it based its decision on a US Dept. of Energy study claiming that concerns about climate change have been overblown. 

The study was subsequently refuted by more than 80 climate experts across the globe. 

Nathenial Keohane, CEO of the non-partisan Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, said in a statement, “At a moment when electricity demand is growing more rapidly than it has in a half-century, and businesses, utilities, and consumers need greater certainty, the Environmental Protection Agency has taken a giant step backward.”  He said in repealing the pollution standards, “EPA has ignored sound science and economics and abdicated its responsibility to protect public health and welfare.” 

Industry-aligned groups praised EPA’s actions. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson said that as demand for electricity continues to soar, “every available electron” will be needed, regardless of the source. The carbon pollution rule “exacerbates the pressures facing America’s electric grid by forcing critical existing power plants into early retirement and severely restricting the operation of new natural gas plants.” 

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a statement that the pollution standards, if they had been left intact, would have “decimated baseload energy production and eliminated jobs across West Virginia.” 

Federal orders since last year have mandated operation of some US coal plants long set to retire that have not recently generated power or eke by on life support, with a number of utilities fighting the orders in court. A Sept. 11 ruling by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. now has limited Energy Dept. authority to keep coal plants open beyond planned retirement dates. A federal decision to appeal to the US Supreme Court has not been announced. 

Meanwhile power sector gas demand is likely to reach a record in September as summer heat persists across the U.S., on pace to shatter the previous record of 40.7 billion cu ft per day in 2024, said S&P Global Energy CERA. That follows a record-setting month in August. Demand also increased in coal-fired generation by 650 GW hours per day, said the research group, citing US Energy Information Administration data. 

About 55% of U.5. data center power came from fossil fuel generation as of 2024, said the International Energy Agency, which added that the trend would likely continue for the next few years as developers seek behind-the-meter solutions to push projects forward.

S&P Global also cited current and forthcoming university research that hyperscalers operating between May 2024 and May 2025 accounted for more than 52 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and an expected $20 billion in annual US health care costs by 2028, with impacts depending on state data center density

But it noted that developers are challenging the financial impact research.

On the Sept. 16 press call, environmental justice advocate Thelisa Lavergne of Air Alliance Houston said many residents of Fort Bend, Texas, live under the shadow of the one of the largest U.S. sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emitters: the NRG-owned W.A. Parish coal plant. 

“These emissions have consequences beyond the immediate area surrounding the plant,” she said. "That is why what happens at W.A. Parish matters to all of Fort Bend County and the Greater Houston region and beyond.”