EPA relaxes emissions standards to ensure longevity of rules

EPA head Michael Regan headed back to DC Friday after visiting his home state of North Carolina to discuss new regulations on carbon emissions.

Regan spoke at UNC’s clean tech summit, a day after announcing new emissions rules for cars that will cut an estimated 7.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

The final rule applies to car models starting in 2027, an extended timeline from the initial proposal.

"We recognize that consumer choice is paramount so this room is flexible in terms of offering different technologies," Regan said. "We spent a lot of time with the auto industry and they stressed that EVs, plug-in hybrids, traditional hybrids, and also gasoline vehicles. A combination of those will help them meet these historic emission reductions and so we're giving them that flexibility."

The EPA is also planning to relax pending utility regulations to exempt existing natural gas facilities from a rule that would require power plants to capture their carbon emissions.

“We are excited about where we're headed with our technology standards focused on existing coal and new natural gas and we will have an announcement coming in a few weeks.”

The administrator says the EPA has been working with labor, industry, and environmental stakeholders to make sure emissions rules are achievable and durable.

“We’re making these investments now so they will be so far gone they will be hard to claw back," Regan said. "These are not just blue values. These are values that are driving Independents, Republicans, and Democrats because they make sense economically and technology really is ruling the day here.”

Some have criticized the EPA for weakening the Biden Administration’s two most ambitious climate rules, calling into question how the U.S. will meet the goal of cutting emissions roughly in half by the end of the decade.

The Natural Resources Defense Council said in a statement: "NRDC is encouraging the EPA to set standards for both new and existing coal and gas plants based on the emission reductions that can be achieved through carbon capture and storage technology."