The Trump administration has significantly undermined the United States’ capacity to address climate change by dismantling a foundational 15-year-old determination that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. This move effectively removes the legal bedrock for almost all existing American climate regulations.
President Donald Trump, alongside Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin, announced the decision, characterising the original finding as a “disastrous Obama era policy” that had negatively impacted the American auto industry and increased costs for consumers. Trump asserted that the repeal would eliminate over $1.3 trillion in regulatory expenses and lead to a substantial decrease in car prices.
“This determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and it had no basis in law,” Trump stated. He further argued that fossil fuels have historically improved lives and lifted billions out of poverty globally. He labelled the endangerment finding as the legal basis for what he termed the “green new scam” and declared its immediate repeal, along with the termination of all additional emission standards imposed on vehicle models and engines since 2012.
EPA administrator Zeldin described the action as the “single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States of America,” referring to the original finding as the “holy grail of federal regulatory overreach.” He claimed that the 2009 Obama EPA endangerment finding initiated a costly regulatory power grab that stifled sectors of the US economy, including the automotive industry. Zeldin also accused previous administrations of leveraging this finding to implement a “left-wing wish list of costly climate policies, electric vehicle mandates and other requirements that assaulted consumer choice and affordability.” He concluded that the endangerment finding and subsequent regulations not only regulated emissions but also targeted the “American dream,” and that this “red tape has been cut.”
Automakers, according to Zeldin, would no longer face the burden of measuring, compiling, or reporting greenhouse gas emissions for vehicles and engines, nor would they be pressured to transition their fleets towards electric vehicles.
This decision to rescind the 2009 regulation effectively removes EPA limits on greenhouse gas pollution across various industries. It joins a series of environmental policy rollbacks initiated by the Trump administration since its inception.
The Obama-era rule served as the basis for nearly all federal restrictions on planet-warming emissions under the Clean Air Act. This includes regulations on vehicle pollution, methane emissions, and emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. Without this foundational finding, the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would be significantly curtailed.
Over the past 15 years, the endangerment finding has been instrumental in reducing climate pollution and safeguarding public health. It has bolstered regulations for power plants and emissions standards for trucks and other vehicles. The current rollback will permit automakers to produce vehicles with higher fuel consumption than currently permitted, directly impacting tailpipe emission limits.
Climate scientists and environmental advocates have voiced grave concerns, warning that discarding the 2009 ruling would hinder the nation’s ability to mitigate the most severe impacts of climate change. They argue this action endangers global communities in favour of the administration’s pursuit of energy dominance.
Widespread Condemnation from Environmental Groups and Political Figures
Environmental organisations and political leaders have strongly criticised the administration’s move.
Joint Statement from Governors: California Governor Gavin Newsom and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued a joint statement declaring the action “unlawful, ignores basic science and denies reality.” They reiterated the scientific consensus that greenhouse gases drive climate change and endanger communities and health, vowing to continue fighting against pollution.
House Energy and Commerce Committee: Representative Frank Pallone, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, condemned the decision as a direct consequence of “corrupt, dishonest grifters running the White House and EPA,” whose sole priority is benefiting their “wealthy corporate polluter friends.” He warned of increased costs for food, power, and housing, alongside the detrimental effects of unchecked climate pollution on property values, insurance rates, and jobs. Pallone characterised the move as a “lose-lose for middle class families and an absolute coup for Trump’s wealthy corporate buddies.”
Environmental Defense Fund: Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund, issued a statement vowing legal challenges. He asserted that the action would lead to increased pollution, resulting in higher costs and tangible harms for American families, and that Americans’ health would suffer.
Author Bill McKibben: Author and founder of Third Act, Bill McKibben, previously commented on the proposal, suggesting it was an attempt to change the law to decriminalise harmful actions. He noted that “Big Oil is not content to merely wreck the future, they’d like to alter the past as well.”
Potential Legal Battles and Long-Term Consequences
Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the California Institute for Water Resources, indicated that anticipated legal challenges could delay the implementation of the rollback for a year or more as courts deliberate on the government’s execution of the decision.
Swain warned that if the rollback is ultimately upheld, the consequences would be severe, effectively halting all federal efforts to regulate heat-trapping and climate change-causing greenhouse gases as pollutants. He described this as a “grim milestone.”
The current announcement is part of a broader pattern by Zeldin, a former New York congressman, to diminish the government’s capacity to measure or respond to human-induced climate change. Notably, last year, the agency announced the closure of its Office of Research and Development, a key entity providing expertise for environmental policy, regulation, and the analysis of climate change and pollution risks.
