Wednesday, 16 September 2026

The US Environmental Protection Agency on September 14 finalized the repeal of Biden administration greenhouse-gas standards for fossil-fuel-fired power plants, according to Oil & Gas Journal. The agency estimates the action will produce more than USD 300 billion in cost savings over 20 years.

The announcement was made at the G20 Energy Ministers' Meeting in Houston and was paired with a proposal to eliminate remaining federal greenhouse-gas requirements for fossil-fueled power plants. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the rollback would enable development of new generating infrastructure.

The repeal lands as gas-fired build plans expand sharply. Global Energy Monitor reported in August that US gas-fired power capacity in development reached 378 GW in first-half 2026, of which 189 GW was tied to projects intended to serve data-center demand. That pipeline was up 50% in the first half of the year, per Global Energy Monitor.

Gas burn in the power sector has already stepped up. According to the EIA, US electric power-sector natural gas consumption averaged 35.8 bcfd in 2025, compared with 27.3 bcfd in 2016. The EIA forecasts overall US gas consumption rising to 92.2 bcfd in 2026 and 94.3 bcfd in 2027, from 91.9 bcfd in 2025.

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) introduced the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026 in April, and the House Judiciary Committee is now set to debate and vote on the measure, Inside Climate News reported.

The bill would bar liability claims, whether for damages or injunctive relief, against companies working across the energy chain, from mining and extraction through refinement, transportation, distribution and sale, according to Inside Climate News. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), joined by three other Senate Republicans, has filed a companion measure aimed at blocking similar suits against the fossil fuel industry.

The congressional push coincides with a climate case reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices are scheduled to hear Suncor Energy v. County Commissioners of Boulder County on Oct. 5, per Inside Climate News. Boulder brought the underlying action in 2018 against ExxonMobil and Suncor, seeking recovery for adaptation costs tied to extreme heat and wildfires.

The Center for Climate Integrity tallies 11 states, Washington, DC, two tribal governments and dozens of cities and counties that have taken the oil and gas industries to court over alleged deception about climate impacts, Inside Climate News reported.

The legislative effort follows another rollback at the federal agency level. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule repealing the Biden-era 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, according to the same outlet.

Russian natural gas deliveries to Armenia via the North Caucasus-Transcaucasia pipeline will be suspended from September 15 to 25 for planned maintenance and repair work in Russia, according to reporting by bankingnews.gr.

Gazprom Armenia said consumers will face no restrictions during the pause. The company stated that domestic storage inventories, combined with additional imports from Iran, will cover demand for the duration of the outage.

Poland's government intends to reintroduce a windfall tax on oil companies' excess profits and channel the revenue into fuel-price relief, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, urging the country's president not to block the measure again, according to Marketscreener.

The proposal would apply a 60% levy on excess revenue that oil companies generate between March and December 2026, per the same reporting.

The government estimates the tax would raise 4 billion zlotys, equivalent to USD 1.06 billion, a year, Marketscreener reported.

President Karol Nawrocki previously rejected the windfall-tax bill and referred it to Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in July, according to Marketscreener, which described him as an ally of the nationalist opposition.