Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 — The Environmental Protection Agency has repealed most federal greenhouse gas requirements adopted in 2024 for coal- and gas-fired power plants and is seeking to eliminate the remaining emissions standards for the sector.
The Sept. 14 action removes requirements that would have pushed some fossil fuel plants toward carbon capture and storage or other emissions reductions. The Biden administration’s 2024 standards would have required existing coal plants planning to operate beyond 2039 to capture most of their carbon emissions or face closure. EPA now argues those requirements depended on technology that could not be deployed at the required scale and pace.
EPA also issued a separate proposal that would rescind the remaining greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. The agency is reconsidering the legal basis for regulating power-sector greenhouse gases, an approach that could affect federal emissions regulation beyond the requirements being repealed now.
The change follows years of litigation over federal attempts to regulate power-plant carbon emissions. The Supreme Court struck down the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan in 2022, while a separate court decision rejected the first Trump administration’s replacement rule. The latest action is also likely to face challenges from environmental organizations.
Utilities and power generators that supported the rollback argued that the 2024 requirements were economically and technically unrealistic. The administration has also tied continued operation of coal and natural-gas generation to rising electricity demand, including demand from data centers and domestic manufacturing. EPA estimates its final action could save the power sector and consumers as much as $310 billion, although that figure is the agency’s estimate and is likely to be contested as the regulatory fight continues.
For insurers and claims professionals, the most direct issues are concentrated in the utility and energy sectors. Changes in environmental requirements can affect compliance obligations, capital projects and disputes involving regulated facilities. The continuing litigation also bears watching for carriers handling environmental, liability and energy-sector risks because the ultimate scope of federal authority over power-plant greenhouse gas emissions remains subject to legal challenges.
State requirements remain another consideration. The federal rollback does not automatically eliminate state-level emissions rules, leaving utilities and their insurers to account for different regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.
