Trump moves to strip EPA of authority to limit power plant carbon pollution
RALEIGH, N.C. (WWAY) — The Trump administration is moving to further limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants.
The EPA is preparing a proposal aimed at blocking existing and future carbon emissions regulations for power plants under the Clean Air Act, according to reporting Monday. The action follows other administration efforts to roll back federal greenhouse gas regulations.
The Sierra Club criticized the proposal Monday, arguing it would remove an important federal tool for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
The environmental organization said North Carolina ranked 12th nationally for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2025, with more than 41 million metric tons emitted.
“From the mountains to the coast, North Carolinians value the outdoors in so many different ways, but climate change impacts are making that harder each year and burning fossil fuels is hurting us,” said Mikaela Curry, Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign manager in North Carolina.
The administration has taken a different position on federal greenhouse gas regulations, arguing the Clean Air Act does not give the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases in the way previous administrations have used it.
In February, the EPA finalized the rescission of the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding as it applied to motor vehicles and also repealed greenhouse gas standards for highway vehicles and engines. The EPA said the action was based on its interpretation of the Clean Air Act and would reduce regulatory costs.
The administration has also sought to repeal Biden-era greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. In announcing an earlier proposal, the EPA argued that emissions from those plants did not meet the Clean Air Act threshold necessary for regulation and said repealing the requirements could save more than $1 billion annually.
Environmental groups dispute that interpretation and are expected to challenge additional rollbacks.
“This is full-throated climate denial while the climate crisis happens in real time and a shocking betrayal of the American public,” Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender said. “The Sierra Club will fight back against this reckless and dangerous proposal with everything we have in the courts, in Congress, and in communities across the country.”
The 2009 Endangerment Finding concluded that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare and became a key legal basis for federal greenhouse gas regulations.
The EPA finalized its repeal of that finding for motor vehicles in February 2026. Monday’s proposed action would focus on the agency’s authority over power plant emissions.
