By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the Environmental Protection Agency plans to resign on Dec. 31 after overseeing President Joe Biden’s administration’s widespread efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants .
EPA Administrator Michael Regan told employees of his plans in an email Friday, saying the agency has “confronted climate change with the urgent science demands. We are setting the strongest standards in history and committing billions of dollars to fuel clean energy development, good-paying American jobs and lower costs for families.”
This week, Regan approved a waiver to allow California to implement groundbreaking clean car rules that aim to ban the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. Rules finalized by the EPA in March will reduce vehicle emissions by 49% by 2032 and accelerate EV deployment. They will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7.2 billion tons by 2055.
Regan said Jane Nishida will serve as acting administrator through Jan. 20 and Dan Utech will serve as acting deputy administrator until then.
Last month, the EPA finalized a methane tax on major oil and gas producers, aimed at curbing emissions of the potent greenhouse gas but likely to be scrapped by the incoming presidency of Donald Trump.
Trump said in November he was nominating Republican former Congressman Lee Zeldin, who often voted against legislation on green issues, to head the EPA.
Trump plans to seek a reversal of many Biden EPA rules on the burning of fossil fuels, including one that will reduce CO2 emissions from power plants and another that will reduce emissions from vehicles.
Trump has said he plans to begin repealing EPA and Department of Transportation vehicle pollution rules on his first day in office and is considering reducing or eliminating electric vehicle tax breaks and other incentives .
Trump also plans to revoke California’s ability to set its own vehicle emissions rules, as he did in 2019.
