The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] announced on Monday its intention to repeal [text, PDF] the Clean Power Plan [JURIST backgrounder], an Obama-era policy that worked to curb greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.

EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt [official website], will produce a formal order on Tuesday, which is expected [AP report] to declare that plan exceeded federal law by setting emissions standards that power plants could not reasonably meet.

The Obama Administration’s Carbon Emissions plan was the first to set limits on US power-plant emissions, which is the largest source of pollution in the US. The plan was set to slash US carbon dioxide emissions to 32 percent of 2005 emissions by the year 2030. According to these projections, there would be 870 million fewer tons of carbon pollution, which is the equivalent of eliminating all emissions from 70 percent of US cars.

Opponents worry the repeal will drastically decrease the US’ ability to uphold [JURIST report] promises as a member of the Paris climate agreement [text, PDF], from which President Trump has vowed to remove [JURIST report] the US as a member.

According to many experts, climate change [JURIST backgrounder] as a result of global greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most pressing and controversial environmental issues facing the international community today.