The Trump administration proposed on Tuesday to overturn a key scientific determination that has served as the foundation for U.S. efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put forward a rule that would revoke its 2009 declaration stating that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. This “endangerment finding” is the legal basis for numerous climate regulations under the Clean Air Act, affecting vehicles, power plants, and other pollution sources contributing to global warming.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the proposed change on a podcast before its official release in Indiana. He called repealing the endangerment finding “the largest deregulatory action in the history of America” and described it as “the holy grail of the climate change religion.” Zeldin, who has pushed for sweeping environmental rollbacks, said the move would help usher in a “Golden Age of American success.”
The EPA also proposed scrapping tailpipe emission limits meant to promote electric vehicle production. Transportation is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Former EPA leaders have condemned Zeldin’s plan, arguing it would endanger public health and abandon the agency’s mission. Christine Todd Whitman, who led the EPA under President George W. Bush, accused the administration of acting against the EPA’s purpose, saying, “If there’s an endangerment finding to be found anywhere, it should be found on this administration.”
The proposal follows an executive order from President Trump directing the EPA to review the endangerment finding’s legality. While conservatives and some Republicans praised the move as a way to eliminate economically harmful regulations, environmental groups and legal experts say overturning the finding would be extremely difficult.
The 2009 finding was based on a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that granted the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants. David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council argued that any attempt to reverse the finding would likely fail in court. Critics warn that repealing it would dismantle existing climate protections and block future regulations.
Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund called the endangerment finding essential for safeguarding public health and criticized the administration’s efforts to undermine it, particularly in weakening vehicle emission standards—the most effective tool for reducing U.S. climate pollution.”These safeguards clearly go against the EPA’s duty to protect Americans’ health and well-being,” he said. “It’s heartless, dangerous, and a failure of our government’s responsibility to shield people from this harmful pollution.”
