New rules announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to contribute to a significant reduction in fossil fuel pollution and hundreds of billions of dollars in health and climate benefits over the coming decades.
In particular, regulations related to carbon emissions are expected to result in “reductions of 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution overall through 2047,” said the agency.
That is equivalent to preventing the annual emissions of 328 million gasoline cars, according to the EPA. It is just one of the expected benefits of regulations described as a “final suite” of rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants intended to improve public health without disrupting electricity delivery.
Per the U.S. Department of Energy, “fossil energy sources, including oil, coal and natural gas, are non-renewable resources that formed when prehistoric plants and animals died and were gradually buried by layers of rock.” These contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
In turn, those emissions contribute to increasing concerns about climate change. Just this week, Audacy reported that new data shows temperatures in Europe are rising and people are dying because of it. Earlier this year, Audacy reported that experts expect climate change to bring 16-ft. waves to the California coast.
The regulations announced this week are also intended to deliver on “the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect public health, advance environmental justice, and confront the climate crisis,” the EPA said.
These new rules will:
· Require coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution
· Strengthen and update Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67% and finalize a 70% reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources
· Require pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants to be reduced by more than 660 million pounds per year
· Require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were previously unregulated at the federal level
“Today, EPA is proud to make good on the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision to tackle climate change and to protect all communities from pollution in our air, water, and in our neighborhoods,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan of the new regulations. “By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans.”