The Trump administration has revoked a scientific finding that underpinned U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, marking the most aggressive move yet by the president to roll back climate regulations.
Endangerment Finding Rescinded
The rule finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rescinds a 2009 government declaration, known as the endangerment finding, which determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. The Obama-era finding served as the legal basis for nearly all climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants, and other pollution sources.
The repeal eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could lead to a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities, according to experts. Legal challenges are anticipated.
President Donald Trump called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in American history, by far,” while EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called the endangerment finding “the Holy Grail of federal regulatory overreach.”
Trump claimed the endangerment finding was “one of the greatest scams in history,” falsely stating it “had no basis in fact” or law. He asserted that fossil fuels “have saved millions of lives and lifted billions of people out of poverty,” despite scientific consensus that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are driving catastrophic heat waves, storms, droughts, and sea level rise.
Environmental groups described the move as the single biggest attack in U.S. history against federal authority to address climate change. They stated that evidence supporting the endangerment finding has only grown stronger in the 17 years since its approval.
“This action will only lead to more climate pollution, and that will lead to higher costs and real harms for American families,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, adding that the consequences would be felt on Americans’ health, property values, water supply and more.
The EPA also announced a two-year delay to a Biden-era rule restricting greenhouse gas emissions by cars and light trucks. Additionally, the agency will end incentives for automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles, a device intended to reduce emissions, which Zeldin said “everyone hates.”
Zeldin, a former Republican congressman appointed by Trump to lead the EPA last year, has criticized previous Democratic administrations, alleging they were “willing to bankrupt the country” in the name of tackling climate change.
Zeldin stated the endangerment finding “led to trillions of dollars in regulations that strangled entire sectors of the United States economy, including the American auto industry.” He further claimed the Obama and Biden administrations used it to implement “a left-wing wish list of costly climate policies, electric vehicle mandates and other requirements that assaulted consumer choice and affordability.”
“The endangerment finding didn’t just regulate emissions, it regulated and targeted the American dream. And now the endangerment finding is hereby eliminated,” Zeldin said.
Supreme Court has upheld the endangerment finding
The Supreme Court upheld the endangerment finding in a 2007 case, ruling that planet-warming greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Since then, courts have consistently rejected legal challenges to the finding, including a 2023 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The endangerment finding is considered the legal foundation for regulations intended to protect against the increasing severity of climate change, including deadly floods, extreme heat waves, catastrophic wildfires, and other natural disasters.
Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator and White House climate adviser, called the Trump administration’s actions reckless. Former President Barack Obama stated the repeal will make Americans “less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money”.
Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician, said the action “prioritises the profits of big oil and gas companies and polluters over clean air and water” and children’s health. David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the repeal is intended to invalidate nearly all climate regulations.
The EPA action follows an executive order from Trump directing the agency to review the “legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding. Myron Ebell, a conservative activist, stated withdrawing the finding “is the most important step taken by the Trump administration so far to return to energy and economic sanity”.
Tailpipe emission limits targeted
Zeldin and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are working to scale back limits on tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. Rules under the Biden administration aimed to encourage automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
The Trump administration proposed in December to weaken vehicle mileage rules, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers. The EPA stated its two-year delay to the Biden-era rule on greenhouse gas emissions will allow time to develop a plan reflecting slower EV sales, while promoting consumer choice and affordability.
Environmental groups said the plan would keep polluting, gas-burning cars and trucks on US roads for years, threatening the health of millions of Americans.
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