US EPA unveils sweeping power plant carbon limit rollbacks at G20 meeting to prioritize grid reliability

The United States administration used the international stage of the G20 energy ministerial meeting in Houston to unveil a massive deregulatory package, officially scrapping carbon emission limits on coal and gas-fired power plants.

The announcement targets measures enacted under former administrations that required high-cost carbon capture and storage technologies to curb greenhouse gases.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin framed the move as a vital step to lower electricity prices, protect grid reliability against soaring demand from data centers, and eliminate what the administration labels as "climate alarmism" in federal policy.

Alongside the immediate repeal, the EPA proposed a supplemental rule to strip out remaining greenhouse gas oversight for the power sector entirely.

While fossil fuel advocates and industrial groups praised the reversal as a long-overdue shield for affordable energy, environmental coalitions immediately vowed legal action, arguing the rollbacks ignore escalating climate risks and sidestep statutory duties under the Clean Air Act.