U.S. set to axe climate pollution limits for power plants: reports

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to remove limits on climate pollution from coal and gas power plants on Monday (September 14, 2026), according to U.S. media reports.

The change would roll back rules introduced by former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2024 which required coal and gas power plants to eliminate nearly all their carbon emissions.

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to announce the change during a G-20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston, Bloomberg News and the New York Times reported on Sunday (September 13, 2026), citing people familiar with the matter.

Under the new rules, power plants would still be subject to some limits on mercury, arsenic and other contaminants, according to the Times.

Coal is the fuel that emits the highest levels of greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.

Mr. Trump frequently calls human-induced climate change “a hoax” and has worked since returning to office last year to remove a number of environmental regulations, many of which limited fossil fuel use.

This year the EPA overturned its 2009 Endangerment Finding, the scientific determination that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.