EPA to revoke finding underpinning all climate regulations

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday will rescind a critical scientific finding supporting the U.S. government’s ability to regulate climate regulations and greenhouse gases, the White House said.

“On Thursday, President Trump will be accompanied by Administrator Lee Zeldin to formalize the reversal of the 2009 Obama-era finding of danger,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday, referring to the EPA leader. “This would be the largest deregulation act in American history, saving the American people $1.3 trillion from crushing regulations.”

EPA took a significant step to undermine 2009″finding of dangerThe EPA press office submitted the proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget over the weekend, it told CNBC earlier in the day. The agency first proposed rescinding the rule in July of last year.

Reversing the finding of danger would represent the Trump administration’s biggest move yet against efforts to combat climate change and would be a boon for the fossil fuel industry, which has been fighting against climate regulations for years. The hazard finding determined that greenhouse gases pose a risk to public health and welfare, giving EPA the authority to regulate them.

This move by the EPA would effectively immediately eliminate regulations on emissions from the transportation sector, the nation’s most polluting sector.

The agency said rescinding the hazard finding, which forms the basis of U.S. climate policy signed during the Obama administration and enacted since, would leave the EPA “lacking statutory authority to set standards for certain motor vehicle emissions under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).”

Since the decision, the EPA has been regulating emissions from automobiles, other vehicles, and power plants. Repeal would open the door to challenging these regulations.

Reversing the finding of danger would almost certainly face legal challenges from environmental groups and could be a weak legal standpoint. The finding of endangerment was upheld in court. The Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA decision in 2007 cleared the way for this finding to be made. Supreme Court As recently as 2023, it refused to hear an appeal challenging its finding of endangerment.

The planned cancellation faced swift backlash from Democrats on Capitol Hill.

“Let’s be very clear about what this announcement represents: This is a corrupt giveaway to Big Oil, plain and simple,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) said on the Senate floor Tuesday. he said. “The blast radius of this reckless decision will extend from San Diego to Portland, Maine, and from Seattle to Miami.”

The status quo has its supporters in the industry, too.

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla’s He called on the administration to support the hazard finding in a September letter to the EPA.

“The Hazard Finding and resulting vehicle emissions standards provided a stable regulatory platform for Tesla’s extensive investments in product development and manufacturing,” Tesla wrote. “Reversal of the Danger Finding would also deprive consumers of choice and comprehensive economic benefits, create adverse impacts on human health, and further impact the integrated North American automotive industry.”

— CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.