AG Davenport Challenges EPA’s Rollback of Power Plant Pollution Limits

Communities in New Jersey and across the country rely on these regulations to protect the air they breathe. Air pollution from fossil fuels is especially harmful to vulnerable groups like children, people with chronic health conditions, and overburdened communities that are exposed to numerous sources of pollution. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) repealed safeguards that required certain coal- and gas-fired power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, clearing the way for a significant increase in pollution that will worsen extreme heat, deadly storms, flooding, wildfire smoke, and threats to public health.

Attorney General Davenport and the coalition are filing a petition for review in the U.S. Circuit, asking the court to strike down the repeal and restore these protections. The coalition is also notifying EPA of its intent to sue over the agency’s continued failure to regulate pollution from existing natural gas power plants.

“Climate change is becoming a more pressing problem each year, yet the Trump Administration is choosing to protect the fossil fuel industry instead of public health,” said Attorney General Davenport. “We are running out of time to reverse worsening climate trends, which is why we are suing today.” Attorney General Davenport and the coalition are challenging EPA’s repeal of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which set greenhouse gas emission targets for many of the country’s fossil fuel power plants. These power plants are among the largest drivers of the climate crisis, producing roughly one-quarter of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Abandoning past efforts to regulate these sources, the EPA erased federal pollution limits for most gas- and coal-fired power plants and introduced a proposal to eliminate power plant emission regulation entirely. Eliminating limits on these harmful air emissions threatens communities across the country. Increased air pollution contributes to more frequent and more intense heat waves that put children, older adults, and workers at risk.

It also contributes to stronger storms and heavier flooding that damage homes, businesses, and transit systems, as well as more wildfire smoke that makes air dangerous to breathe. Increased pollution from fossil fuel power plants can worsen asthma, heart disease, and other serious respiratory illnesses, especially in low-income and other overburdened communities. These changes also increase the financial burden on local and state governments that bear the costs of recovering from increasingly extreme weather events.