The Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that allows the government to regulate climate-heating pollution, a move environmental advocates call a gift to 'billionaire polluters' at the expense of public health. The endangerment finding, which since 2009 has enabled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other industrial sources, was formally repealed on Thursday.
President Donald Trump described the repeal as 'the single largest deregulatory action in American history,' telling reporters, 'This is a big one if you’re into environment. This is about as big as it gets.' The action is part of a broader anti-environment push that has seen Trump roll back pollution rules and boost oil and gas production.
Former President Barack Obama said the repeal will leave Americans 'less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change – all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.' John Kerry, former secretary of state and climate envoy, called the rule 'un-American,' warning it 'invites enormous damage to people and property around the world.'
The final rule removes the government’s ability to require tracking, reporting, and limiting climate-heating pollution from cars and trucks, which are the largest source of US climate pollution. While it does not immediately apply to stationary sources like power plants, experts expect the EPA to extend the rollback to those sectors. Joseph Goffman, former EPA air chief under Joe Biden, said the repeal will be 'like a row of dominoes falling,' eventually dismantling all EPA climate regulations.
Environmental groups have condemned the move as illegal and promised legal challenges, joined by the state of California. Governor Gavin Newsom warned the rollback 'will lead to more deadly wildfires, more extreme heat deaths, more climate-driven floods and droughts.' Dominique Browning of Moms Clean Air Force called it 'the most aggressive, ruthless act of dismantling public health protections in the agency’s 55-year history.'
The EPA claims the move will save the US $1.3tn, but an analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund found that full repeal combined with proposed rollbacks of motor vehicle standards could result in up to 18 billion more tons of planet-warming pollution by 2055, equivalent to annual emissions of the entire US.
