Trump EPA Repeal of Power Plant Carbon Standards Could Raise Health Costs by $476 Billion

The Trump administration is moving to repeal remaining greenhouse gas standards for power plants, a decision critics say could increase air pollution, undermine public health protections and make future regulation more difficult.

Critics Warn of Lasting Damage to Public Health Regulations

The first Trump administration repealed many public health regulations, but after Trump lost reelection, the Biden administration reinstated many of them, Hoover said. Now, the government is not only abolishing those protections but “burning them down,” he said, making it significantly more difficult for future administrations to regulate pollution from the power sector.

“It’s really very harmful,” Hoover said.

An EPA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the science the agency used to support its claim that greenhouse gas emissions do not significantly contribute to dangerous air pollution.

Biden EPA Said Carbon Standards Would Deliver Major Climate and Health Benefits

The climate and health benefits of carbon pollution standards “significantly outweigh the costs of compliance,” Biden’s EPA announced.

The agency cited a regulatory impact analysis that projected the standards would reduce carbon pollution by 1.38 billion metric tons by 2047. That amount is equivalent to blocking emissions from the entire U.S. power sector for nearly a year or avoiding the annual emissions of 328 million gasoline-powered vehicles.

Huber said the regulatory framework is based on cost-benefit analysis. However, he said the Trump administration has so far “significantly ignored, if not outright refused” to quantify the public health benefits of environmental regulations.

EPA Estimates Billions in Savings From Repealing Power Plant Rules

In announcing the repeal of power plant regulations, President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency said the changes would save $310 billion by freeing up coal and natural gas. The proposal to roll back “all remaining greenhouse gas standards in the power sector” would save an additional $370 million in direct compliance costs, the agency said.

The administration also said the rule would save American families and businesses billions of dollars in additional costs.

Study Estimates Higher Utility and Health Costs

However, an independent study found that coal-fired power generation is leading to higher utility costs for consumers.

According to cost-effectiveness estimates, increased emissions of toxic air pollutants resulting from the repeal could lead to as much as $476 billion in additional health costs, an analysis by the nonprofit organization Resources for the Future found.

Electricity and Transportation Are Major Sources of U.S. Climate Pollution

Huber said the two largest sources of climate change emissions in the United States are the electricity and transportation sectors.

“And with today’s deregulation, the Trump administration concludes its efforts to repeal both climate change regulations,” he said.

Lisa Gross is a reporter for Inside Climate News based in Northern California. She is the author of the Science Writer’s Handbook of Investigative Reporting and a contributor to the Science Writer’s Handbook. Both were funded by the National Science Writers Association’s Peggy Gershman Ideas Grant. She has covered science, conservation, agriculture, public and environmental health, and justice for many years, with a focus on the misuse of science for private gain. Before joining ICN, she worked as a part-time journal editor for the open access journal PLOS Biology, reported for the Food & Environmental Reporting Network, and produced freelance articles for numerous national publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Discover, and Mother Jones. Her work has received awards from the Society of Healthcare Journalists, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal, and the Society of Food Journalists.

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News.