US scraps limits on emissions from coal and gas power plants

# Why This Matters The elimination of emission limits on coal and gas power plants represents a fundamental reversal in U.S. climate policy that will have measurable consequences for air quality, public health, and the nation's ability to meet climate commitments. By removing these regulatory guardrails, the power sector—which accounts for roughly 25 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions—faces no federal obligation to reduce pollution, likely resulting in thousands of additional premature deaths annually from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases while increasing concentrations of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in communities adjacent to these facilities. The move also effectively abandons America's pledges under international climate agreements, undermining U.S. credibility in global climate negotiations and potentially triggering retaliatory trade measures from other nations. Economically, while the deregulation may modestly lower electricity prices in the near term, it externalizes the true costs of coal and gas pollution—estimated at hundreds of billions in healthcare expenses and climate damages—onto taxpayers and future generations rather than incorporating them into energy pricing.