Twenty-five US states and cities challenge EPA power-plant carbon rollback

On October 1, Reuters reported that a coalition of 25 states and cities filed a petition in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the EPA’s repeal of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards. The coalition argues that the agency revoked greenhouse-gas limits for power plants without adequately considering alternatives or the health and climate costs of additional pollution; the allegations have not yet been adjudicated. Utilities, investors and large energy users should model compliance and project economics against more than the federal rule currently on the books because the litigation could revive or reshape carbon-capture and emissions obligations. Counsel should preserve regulatory comments, technology assessments and capital-allocation records that may later explain how transition decisions were made amid an unstable legal baseline.