US Revokes Limits on Power Plants’ Climate Pollution

美国撤销对发电厂气候污染的限制

New Rule Could Increase Health Damaging Pollutants 新规可能增加危害健康的污染物

September 17, 2026 | Matthew Reysio-Cruz | Researcher, Environment and Human Rights 2026年9月17日 | Matthew Reysio-Cruz | 环境与人权研究员

Image: Pollution and steam are seen rising from the stacks of the Miami Fort Power Station along the Ohio River, in North Bend, Ohio, on July 23, 2026. © 2026 Jason Whitman/NurPhoto via AP Photo 图片：2026年7月23日，俄亥俄州北本德，俄亥俄河畔的迈阿密堡发电站烟囱冒出污染烟雾和蒸汽。© 2026 Jason Whitman/NurPhoto via AP Photo

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 14 that it is repealing limits on climate-warming pollution from coal and gas-fired power plants, the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country. 美国国家环境保护局（EPA）于9月14日宣布，将撤销对燃煤和燃气发电厂气候变暖污染物的限制。这些发电厂是美国第二大温室气体排放源。

By gutting the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, the EPA is eliminating most of the limits on power plants’ carbon emissions. The move is one of the Trump administration’s most significant attacks yet on the US government’s ability to confront the climate crisis and protect communities devastated by pollution. 通过废除《2024年碳污染标准》，美国环保局消除了对发电厂碳排放的大部分限制。此举是特朗普政府迄今为止对美国政府应对气候危机及保护受污染影响社区能力的最重大打击之一。

The 2024 standards required existing coal plants and new gas plants to capture 90 percent of carbon emissions or shut down by 2039, which would have reduced carbon pollution by an estimated 1.38 billion metric tons through 2047. The Biden-era rule was also projected to help reduce power plants’ emissions of health-harming pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter. 《2024年标准》要求现有的燃煤电厂和新建燃气电厂必须捕获90%的碳排放，否则须在2039年前关闭。据估计，该标准到2047年可减少13.8亿公吨的碳污染。拜登时期的这项规定还被认为有助于减少发电厂对危害健康污染物的排放，包括二氧化硫、氮氧化物和细颗粒物。

Human Rights Watch has documented how these pollutants from industrial operations can degrade air quality and harm the health of communities living nearby. Our research in countries like Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Türkiye has shown how coal-fired plants, in particular, can emit pollution that contributes to dangerous levels of air pollution. The Biden administration estimated that the 2024 Carbon Standards would prevent 1,200 deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in the US in 2035 alone. 人权观察组织记录了工业运营产生的这些污染物如何降低空气质量并损害周边社区居民的健康。我们在保加利亚、波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那以及土耳其等国的研究表明，燃煤电厂排放的污染物会导致危险的空气污染水平。拜登政府曾估计，《2024年碳标准》仅在2035年一年内就能在美国预防1,200例死亡和36万例哮喘发作。

The EPA claimed its repeal of the 2024 standards would save businesses $370 million in regulatory costs but did not say what the costs to public health would be. In January, the agency said it would no longer factor in health costs when estimating the economic impact of pollution limits. 美国环保局声称，废除《2024年标准》将为企业节省3.7亿美元的监管成本，但并未说明这将给公共健康带来多大代价。今年1月，该机构表示，在评估污染限制的经济影响时，将不再考虑健康成本。

In its announcement rescinding the 2024 carbon standards, the EPA also proposed removing “all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants,” arguing these emissions do not impact climate change. In 2025, the agency also revoked its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, a finding grounded in scientific evidence that had provided a legal foundation for federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. 在宣布废除《2024年碳标准》的同时，美国环保局还提议取消“发电厂所有剩余的温室气体排放要求”，理由是这些排放不会影响气候变化。2025年，该机构还撤销了其2009年关于“温室气体危害公共健康”的认定。这一认定曾基于科学证据，为联邦政府监管温室气体排放提供了法律基础。

While the Trump administration mounts a full-throated denial of decades of scientific evidence, communities across the country—and the world—are already contending with the consequences of the climate crisis. The EPA should restore the 2024 standards and strengthen its regulation of the fossil fuel industry. 尽管特朗普政府全力否认数十年的科学证据，但全国乃至全世界的社区已经在承受气候危机的后果。美国环保局应当恢复《2024年标准》，并加强对化石燃料行业的监管。

Region / Country: United States 地区 / 国家： 美国

Topic: Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, Environment and Human Rights 主题： 气候变化、化石燃料、环境与人权