A coalition of environmental and public health organizations filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Trump administration over its recent decision to dismantle most federal climate regulations governing coal and natural gas power plants.
The lawsuit, brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, the Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, and the Environmental Defense Fund, comes just days after the administration finalized its repeal of the Biden-era standards. Those rules were projected to prevent 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2047—an amount equivalent to taking 328 million gasoline-powered cars off the road for a full year.
Under the new policy, existing coal plants and newly built gas plants will no longer be required to capture 90% of their carbon emissions before releasing them into the atmosphere. Because the electric power sector accounts for roughly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, this rollback is seen as one of the administration's most consequential climate actions.
The administration has defended the move as a cost-saving measure, estimating it could save $310 billion. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin framed the rollback as an end to what he called a "war on coal" by previous administrations, arguing it would protect reliable and affordable energy. "The Trump Administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on," Zeldin said when the rule was finalized.
But the groups suing argue that the EPA is legally obligated under the Clean Air Act and Supreme Court precedent to regulate climate pollution from the nation's largest industrial sources. "Repealing these standards without a replacement is an abdication of EPA's legal responsibility to protect public health and the environment," said Meredith Hankins, federal climate legal director at NRDC, in a statement. "The EPA's legal reasoning is fatally flawed, so we are going to court."
Health advocates also stressed the human cost. "Emissions from power plants drive climate change, and climate change is a health emergency," said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association. "Measures that clean up power plant emissions also clean up other lung-harming pollutants at the same time. EPA has the authority and the responsibility to protect people's health from air pollution."
The EPA declined to comment on the lawsuit. The legal challenge is part of a broader pattern of litigation against the administration's policy reversals, which have drawn fierce opposition from environmental and health groups. As the case moves forward, observers expect it to become a key test of the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act, with potential implications for energy policy and public health protections.
