Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the rollback of Biden-era greenhouse gas standards for power plants at a press conference in Houston during a G20 energy conference on Monday.
"The unlawful Biden administration's 2024 greenhouse gas requirements for power plants were a direct attempt to shift away from essential and affordable energy," he said. "It was this belief that in the name of protecting the environment that we should suffocate out of existence entire sectors of our energy economy. President Trump has made it clear that those days are done."
The standards issued under President Joe Biden limited the amount of greenhouse gases that natural gas- and coal-fired power plants could emit.
Zeldin said the changes would save "$310 billion for American families" and argued the Biden administration exceeded its authority in imposing the requirements.
"Today's announcement isn't just about restoring the American economy," he said. "It's also about restoring the rule of law."
The elimination of the standards could have sweeping impacts for Texas, which lead the country in carbon emissions from power plants in 2025.
According toEPA data, Texas power plants emitted more than 193 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2025, leading the 49 states who reported the data. Carbon dioxide emissions information for Alaska was not included in the EPA dataset.
Rice University civil and environmental engineering professor Daniel Cohan said while the rollback is focused on greenhouse gases linked to climate change — like carbon dioxide — other pollutants are released alongside those emissions, like ozone, smog and particulate pollution. With Texas leading in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, the state is likely to see an outsized impact, he added.
"For Texas, this means that we're likely to be breathing far more pollution coming out of our power plants for years to come, and we're affected more than any other state," he said.
Meanwhile, Texas environmental groups also slammed the EPA's decision.
Air Alliance Houston Executive Director Jennifer Hadayia said in a statement that the EPA's decision would "negatively impact public health and the climate for generations to come."
"This hits especially hard here in Houston, where Administrator Zeldin chose to make this announcement, even when the EPA knows full well how much dirty air Houstonians already breathe and how many devastating weather events we have already endured," she said. "No state has suffered more billion-dollar climate-related weather disasters than Texas."
Copyright 2026 Houston Public Media News 88.7