California joins coalition challenging EPA repeal of power plant carbon standards

OAKLAND, Oct 1 — California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday joined a coalition of 25 states, counties and cities in a lawsuit asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) repeal of power plant greenhouse gas standards, Bonta's office said.²

The petition for review, dated October 1, 2026, asks the court to review the final action of EPA and Administrator Lee Zeldin entitled "Partial Repeal of the Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units," published at 91 Fed.¹ Reg.¹ 58954 on Sept 17.¹

The petition names EPA and Zeldin as respondents and was filed under Section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act.¹

California and the coalition allege that EPA's rescission of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards violates the Clean Air Act, according to the press release from Bonta's office.² The release said the coalition asks the court to vacate the rescission and restore EPA's greenhouse gas emission standards for the power plants.²

"Rolling back emission standards for power plants is an affront to the American people," Bonta said.²

The petitioners listed in the petition include the states of New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the District of Columbia and the cities of Chicago and New York.¹ Josh Shapiro is a petitioner in an official capacity as governor of Pennsylvania.¹

The release said the California Air Resources Board also joined the lawsuit.²

The final rule is effective on November 16, 2026, according to the Federal Register notice attached to the petition.¹

In the rule, EPA said it is repealing the emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating units, the carbon capture-based standards for coal-fired steam generating units undertaking a large modification, and the carbon capture-based standards for new base load stationary combustion turbines.¹