The Trump administration is set to reverse a pivotal environmental finding from 2009 that has been fundamental to federal climate change initiatives.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contends that it lacks the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and is proposing to roll back the ‘endangerment finding’ which allows the regulation of pollutants from fossil fuel development and combustion, including greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced this proposal at a car dealership in Indiana, highlighting an effort he claims will terminate sixteen years of uncertainty for automakers and consumers.
In conjunction with the endangerment finding reversal, the EPA also intends to eliminate existing regulations aimed at reducing climate pollution from vehicles, which remain the largest source of direct greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
Climate advocates have pledged to oppose this initiative both during the public comment phase of the proposed rule and through legal action if necessary.
Christy Goldfuss, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, expressed outrage, stating, ‘As Americans reel from deadly floods and heat waves, the Trump administration is trying to argue that the emissions turbocharging these disasters are not a threat. It boggles the mind and endangers the nation’s safety and welfare.’
This announcement follows a series of extreme weather events, including the hottest recorded year globally and climate-fueled wildfires in Los Angeles that have devastated thousands of homes.
Should the proposed decision be finalized, it would significantly bolster President Trump’s attempts to dismantle the climate policies established under President Biden, making it harder for future administrations to impose restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming.
Historically, the 2007 Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA determined that the agency has a mandate to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
The subsequent 2009 endangerment finding made it possible to implement regulations on climate pollutants emitted by sources like coal and gas-fired power plants, vehicle exhaust, and methane from the fossil fuel industry.
Despite previous reaffirmations of the endangerment finding by the EPA, Congress in 2022 reaffirmed the classification of greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act within the Inflation Reduction Act, complicating the administration’s initiative to rescind the finding.
Nonetheless, President Trump has made the abandonment of this finding a key priority, even mandating an executive order on the first day of his second term requiring the EPA to recommend whether the endangerment finding remains legally applicable.
This approach aligns with the conservative objectives outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which seeks to curtail governmental authority over climate pollution regulations.
Zeldin previously described this move in March as ‘the most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history’ aimed at impeding what he termed the ‘climate change religion’ while striving to lower living costs for American families.
The Trump administration defends its position by asserting that previous administrations established the endangerment finding in a ‘flawed’ manner, arguing that they exceeded their legal authority and imposed ‘trillions of dollars of costs on Americans.’
The EPA cites past Republican arguments that the Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA did not obligate the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the specified sources.
Furthermore, the agency contends that recent Supreme Court decisions place the legality of the 2009 endangerment finding in question.
The United States remains the largest historical contributor to man-made climate pollution and has also engaged under the 2015 Paris climate agreement to actively lower emissions and mitigate warming.
Contrary to this commitment, Trump has signed an order to withdraw the U.S. from that agreement.
In response, Dan Becker from the Center for Biological Diversity condemned the administration’s initiative, stating, ‘This cynical one-two punch allows Trump’s Flat Earth EPA to slam the brakes on reducing auto pollution and ignore urgent warnings from the world’s leading scientists about the need for climate action.
By revoking this key scientific finding, Trump is placing loyalty to Big Oil above sound science and public health.’
Trump has also urged oil executives to support his presidential campaign financially, suggesting they raise $1 billion in exchange for rolling back environmental regulations.
This series of actions underscores a contentious battle over climate policy and environmental regulation in the United States.
image source from：npr
