US President Donald Trump on Thursday formally revoked the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2009 “endangerment finding”, the scientific determination that greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, pose a risk to public health and welfare.
The action represents the most significant rollback of federal climate policy in US history.
The repeal also rescinds federal standards for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and threatens other climate regulations, including limits on power plant carbon dioxide emissions and methane controls for oil and gas production. Legal challenges are expected to follow quickly.
Trump Denounces Climate Science
At a White House event, Trump dismissed decades of climate research, calling the endangerment finding “a giant scam.” He argued that human-induced climate change is not a threat to public health and defended the repeal as a cost-saving measure.
“This determination had no basis in law or fact,” Trump said. The administration projected that removing the regulations could save more than $1 trillion in regulatory costs and reduce the price of new vehicles.
Immediate Criticism from Leaders and Environmental Groups
The decision drew swift condemnation from political leaders and environmental organizations.
Former president Barack Obama said the rollback would make Americans “less safe, less healthy, and less able to combat climate change.”
Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defence Council, described it as “the single largest attack on US federal climate action in history.”
Historical Context: The Endangerment Finding
The 2009 endangerment finding stemmed from the Supreme Court’s 2007 ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which established that greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The EPA determined that six key greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment.
Originally applied to vehicle emissions, the finding later became the legal foundation for a broad set of climate regulations in the United States.
Legal and Scientific Controversy
The Trump administration argued that greenhouse gases should not be treated as traditional pollutants because their effects are global and indirect and that domestic regulation cannot meaningfully solve the climate problem.
However, critics highlight that the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the endangerment finding, including in 2022, and that the administration’s supporting studies were widely discredited by the scientific community.
Environmental advocates argue that the administration’s focus on cost savings ignores the public health, environmental, and economic benefits of reducing emissions.
Implications for the Environment and Industry
The repeal could encourage higher greenhouse gas emissions and slow the United States’ transition to cleaner energy. Analysts warn that it may also shift the automotive market toward less efficient, gas-powered vehicles, potentially undermining US competitiveness in the global electric vehicle sector.
Environmental groups have signaled ongoing litigation and legislative efforts to restore the regulations and prevent further weakening of US climate policy.
