25 states and cities sue EPA over repeal of power plant emissions limits

October 1, 2026 at 11:01 PM3 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 25 states and cities in suing the EPA on Thursday to block the repeal of greenhouse gas emission limits for power plants. The coalition filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the EPA's elimination of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards. The EPA repealed the standards last month and estimated the rollback would spare the industry more than $300 billion in compliance costs.

Key Facts

The coalition includes the attorneys general of 21 states, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania's governor, the mayors of New York City and Chicago, and the city and county of Denver.
Power plants account for roughly one-quarter of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, according to the New York attorney general's office.
The EPA estimated the rollback would spare the industry more than $300 billion in compliance costs.
The coalition contends that eliminating the standards will allow millions of additional tons of greenhouse gas emissions, worsening extreme heat, storms, flooding, and wildfires.
The coalition also put the EPA on notice that it plans to bring a separate legal action over the agency's ongoing inaction on greenhouse gas pollution from existing gas-fired power plants.

The Lawsuit

New York Attorney General Letitia James led the coalition in filing the petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Thursday. The petition challenges the EPA's elimination of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which had obligated coal- and gas-fired power plants to cut their greenhouse gas output. The coalition argues that the EPA discarded the pollution limits without adequately weighing alternatives or accounting for health and climate consequences, rendering the repeal arbitrary and unlawful. Attorney General James stated, "Dismantling these protections is a betrayal of American families, and the stakes are too high to allow this administration to once again put profits over people."

EPA Repeal and Industry Impact

The EPA repealed the standards last month and said it was taking a separate step to prevent future administrations from introducing new greenhouse gas regulations for power plants. EPA Assistant Administrator Aaron Szabo said in September the change would allow utilities to "make the best decision for the ratepayers based on cost and cost savings, instead of being required to shut down facilities." The EPA estimated the rollback would spare the industry more than $300 billion in compliance costs. Power plants account for roughly one-quarter of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, according to the New York attorney general's office.

Coalition Members and Next Steps

The coalition includes the attorneys general of 21 states — New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin — along with the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania's governor, the mayors of New York City and Chicago, and the city and county of Denver. Alongside the petition, the coalition put the EPA on notice that it plans to bring a separate legal action over the agency's ongoing inaction on greenhouse gas pollution from existing gas-fired power plants, including peaker plants that frequently run during high-demand periods and tend to be situated in low-income communities. The EPA had not returned a request for comment on the lawsuit, the Associated Press reported.