The Trump administration is moving to overturn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 endangerment finding, which declared that greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
The finding has served as the legal basis for many federal climate policies, including limits on emissions from power plants and vehicles.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin described the proposed reversal as “the greatest day of deregulation our nation has seen,” adding, “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.”
The proposal is currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget and is expected to face legal scrutiny. Critics argue that the move undermines longstanding science and could dismantle decades of climate policy.
Rachel Cleetus of the Union of Concerned Scientists called it “a giveaway to the fossil fuel industry and an attempt to undo pollution standards.”
Established during the Obama administration, the endangerment finding followed a 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which required the agency to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases if they posed a danger.
In 2022, Congress reaffirmed this authority through the Inflation Reduction Act, complicating efforts to repeal the finding.
The Trump administration argues the original finding was based on flawed legal reasoning and imposes unnecessary costs on Americans.
The EPA claims U.S. emissions are a small share of global totals and that repealing regulations would have little health impact.
Environmental groups have condemned the move.
Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity said, “By revoking this key scientific finding our government is putting fealty to Big Oil over sound science and people’s health.”
If successful, the repeal could make future greenhouse gas regulations more difficult. Legal challenges are expected, and any final decision could take years.
Still, the administration’s intentions are clear: to eliminate regulatory constraints on fossil fuels and reshape the role of the federal government in climate action.
Trump EPA moves to overturn landmark climate finding on greenhouse gases appeared first on Energy Live News.