Biden admin announces plan to curb emissions from power plants

President Joe Biden's administration yesterday announced plans to curb planet-warming emissions from the nation's power stations, as part of the United States' efforts to combat climate change.

Starting from 2030, the proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency would target fossil fuel electricity production with increasingly stringent carbon reduction requirements, including compelling some coal plants to directly capture pollution from their smokestacks.

"EPA's proposal relies on proven, readily available technologies to limit carbon pollution and seizes the momentum already underway in the power sector to move toward a cleaner future," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

The agency estimated its measures targeting coal and natural gas would prevent 617 million metric tons of total carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere through 2042, equivalent to reducing the annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles, or half the cars in the United States.

But the rules, currently in draft form, are certain to face legal challenges that could place them before the conservative-majority Supreme Court, which has previously knocked back efforts to regulate the sector.

Emissions from US power plants have been steadily declining, thanks to a rapid drop in the cost of renewables. But the sector is still responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gasses produced by the world's largest economy.

That has made it a prime target for Biden, who has pledged to cut emissions from electricity production to zero by 2035, as part of his climate agenda.