U.S. EPA moves to kill power plant rules

Abstract

The Trump Administration’s recent steps to kill the Obama Administration’s regulations to curb power plant emissions are unlikely to stop U.S. and international movement away from coal use. That’s the view of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), a chemical industry trade association, and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a scientific advocacy group. In a report, UCS finds that the share of U.S. electricity coming from coal fell from 51% in 2008 to 31% in 2016, and of the coal units that remain, roughly one in four plan to retire or convert to natural gas. Another 17% are uneconomic and may soon face retirement. ACC says with or without action by the Environmental Protection Agency, reductions in U.S. greenhouse gas releases are likely to continue, driven largely by market forces and state and regional emission control policies. Like UCS, the chemical makers’ group points to data showing sharp carbon dioxide