More than three dozen Democratic senators have launched an inquiry into the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following its decision to stop assigning a monetary value to the health benefits of reducing air pollution. The change, which affects regulations on fine particulate matter and ozone, is widely seen as a setback to climate action.
In a regulatory impact analysis, the EPA argued that the estimates of health benefits contain too much uncertainty. Previously, the agency placed a dollar figure on outcomes such as fewer premature deaths and reduced illness, including asthma attacks. The senators criticised the updated policy as 'particularly troubling' and said it 'destroys that framework and results in a failure to faithfully execute EPA's statutory mandate to protect human health'.
The inquiry, led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, ranking member of the Senate environment committee, seeks documents and details explaining the EPA's decision by 26 February. Lawmakers want to know the reasoning behind the move, what factors the EPA will consider in future Clean Air Act rule-making, and whether it consulted outside parties such as the secretary of health and human services or public health specialists.
The repeal is part of President Donald Trump's broader attacks on US climate policy. On Thursday, Trump called the endangerment finding—the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases—'the basis for the green new scam'. Since returning to office, his administration has rolled back pollution regulations and promoted fossil fuel production, drawing condemnation from climate scientists and advocates.
