Op-Ed: Trump Move to Strip EPA of Carbon-Limiting Authority Over Power Plants Will Impact Texas More Than Any Other State
Houston – Today, Donald Trump’s administration is expected to propose repealing the Endangerment Finding for power plants, a move that would pave the way for increased greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas plants – which Texas has more of than any other state – and would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to combat the health impacts of climate change. Today’s proposal is part of a sweeping effort by the Trump Administration to dismantle the legal foundation for federal climate regulation and to speed up permitting for fossil fuel infrastructure at the expense of public health.
Texas Impact
- According to EPA data, Texas fossil fuel plants emitted 190 million tons of carbon in 2025, much more than any other state and more than the No. 2 and 3 states (Florida and Pennsylvania) combined.
- Much of this CO2 pollution in Texas can now remain unchanged or, more likely, will increase once today’s decision is finalized due to the numerous gas plants that state agencies are approving for data centers in Texas.
- Texas gas plants released more carbon pollution – 119 million tons – than gas plants in any other state.
- Owners of new and existing gas and coal plants in Texas will be able to avoid pathways to reducing their carbon pollution, which also would have reduced releases of extremely toxic substances like mercury, heavy metals, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide.
- For example, the recently announced Amazon data center in Pecos County plans to build 35 gas turbines to generate more than 7 gigawatts of power, estimated to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually to become the biggest carbon polluter in the nation.
- Texas coal plants also released more carbon pollution – 71 million tons – than coal plants in any other state, by far.
- The W.A. Parish coal plant in Fort Bend County, near Houston, is currently the state’s biggest carbon emitter and the fourth largest in the country, releasing almost 13 billion tons of carbon pollution in a single year.
- The Oak Grove coal plant east of Waco, the Fayette Power Project east of Austin, and the Martin Lake coal plant in East Texas were the next biggest emitters of carbon pollution in Texas in 2025.
- Vistra Corp., which is based in Irving and owns three Texas coal plants – produced more carbon pollution than any other parent company in the United States. Houston-based NRG is in the top 10 biggest carbon-emitting companies in the country.
- Texas will be one of the most impacted states in the country as the climate continues to change.
Statements from Sierra Club and Air Alliance Houston
“Texas is on the frontlines – already contributing 190 million tons of climate-warming pollution to the air while also carrying the burden of intense heat, floods years in a row, and droughts that can’t be cured by months of rain,” said Jaime Perkins, a North Texas-based organizer for the Sierra Club. “As many of us struggle to build healthy lives and pay for things like skyrocketing insurance, the powers that be give rich industries a free pass to pollute as much carbon as they want. With the AI boom hitting Texas hard, Trump’s decision will unleash a new wave of uncontrolled data center-related pollution into Texas skies for decades to come. It can feel like the cards are extremely stacked against us, but Texans are resilient and uniting and fighting stronger together – and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
“Despite claims to be making America healthy again, today’s announcement will release more toxic pollution into the air and negatively impact public health and the climate for generations to come,” said Jennifer Hadayia, executive director of Air Alliance Houston. “This hits especially hard here in Houston, where Administrator Zeldin chose to make this announcement, even when the EPA knows full well how much dirty air Houstonians already breathe and how many devastating weather events we have already endured. No state has suffered more billion-dollar climate-related weather disasters than Texas. Zeldin is giving more permitting gifts to industry at the expense of our health and safety. What a slap in the face to our city.”
Background
The proposal delivers directly on the promises that Trump-appointed EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made when he told corporate executives at a National Coal Council meeting “many of the items that were on your wish list are now done.” The administration has already given more than $700 million in taxpayer dollars to the coal industry, despite the immense public and environmental harms associated with burning coal for electricity, and the well–documented evidence that clean energy is now cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable than fossil fuels.
The handouts and regulatory giveaways come as renewable energy continues to outperform coal in the marketplace. Even as Texas generated more energy overall in the first six months of 2026, coal and gas generation decreased while solar and wind generation increased. The coal industry cannot compete with solar – it’s being kept on life support by taxpayer subsidies and regulatory handouts, while ordinary families pay the price in higher electricity bills, dirtier air, and more extreme weather fueled by carbon pollution.
The Endangerment Finding is a 2009 scientific determination by the EPA that greenhouse gasses pose a significant threat to public health and the environment. It is the legal cornerstone of the EPA’s authority to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act – the foundation upon which vehicle standards, power plant rules, and other climate protections have all been built. The nonpartisan National Academies of Sciences confirmed last year that the finding “was accurate, has stood the test of time, and is now reinforced by even stronger evidence.”
The Sierra Club helped bring the landmark Massachusetts v. EPA Supreme Court case that established EPA’s obligation to regulate greenhouse gas pollution under the Clean Air Act.