The Trump administration has announced its plan to rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations. If finalized, the repeal would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plants, smokestacks, and other sources, and hamper future U.S. efforts to combat global warming. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s plan to rescind the “endangerment finding” at an event at a car dealership in Indiana, alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The proposal, which needs to undergo a public comment period, would cut $54 billion in costs annually through the repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the vehicle tailpipe standard.
Under President Joe Biden, the EPA said the tailpipe rules through 2032 would avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions as it prodded automakers to build more EVs and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $62 billion in reduced fuel costs and maintenance and repair costs for drivers. Environmental groups blasted the move, saying it spells the end of the road for U.S. action against climate change, even as the impacts of global warming become more severe.
The move is expected to trigger legal challenges, according to several environmental groups, states, and lawyers. Environmental groups, states, and lawyers have argued that the EPA does not have the ability to regulate greenhouse gases due to a 2024 Supreme Court decision that reduced the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer, known as the Chevron deference. The administration has already dismissed all authors of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, which detailed climate change impacts across the country.
