Trump to repeal key ruling allowing regulation of planet-heating gases | US news
In what would be the Trump administration’s boldest anti-environment move yet, the White House press secretary said on Thursday he would withdraw a mechanism that allows the government to regulate pollution that is warming the planet. he told reporters.
“President Trump will be accompanied by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to formalize the withdrawal of the 2009 Obama-era hazard finding,” Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference Tuesday. “This will be the largest act of deregulation in American history.”
The finding identified: CO2 and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare and provide a legal basis for their regulation under the Clean Air Act. Overturning that decision would be “a devastating blow to millions of Americans who face increasing risks of unnatural disasters,” said Meredith Hankins, director of federal climate law at the environmental advocacy nonprofit National Resources Defense Council.
“The Trump EPA cynically claims that climate change is not a risk to the health and well-being of Americans,” Hankins said. “This is the biggest attack yet on federal authority to combat the climate crisis.
The rollback is certain to lead to legal challenges.
“This cannot survive without a fight,” Hankins added. “EPA’s ridiculous legal claims should be laughed at in court. We will see them in court, and we will win.”
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the Environmental Defense Fund has promised to sue the EPA over the rule.. Abigail Dillen, president of the green legal organization Earthjustice, also said her group will “take the Trump administration to court.”
In a statement, an EPA spokesperson called the danger finding “one of the most damaging decisions in modern history” and said “hard-working families and small businesses are paying the price.”
“EPA is actively working to take historic action for the American people,” the spokesperson said.
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order directing the EPA to evaluate whether the hazard finding should be preserved.
After Zeldin announced his plan to repeal the finding in July 2025, the agency received half a million comments on the proposal. He then submitted an annulment of the legal determination. White House review last month.
Leavitt said Tuesday the rollback would save Americans $1.3 trillion, but he did not explain how officials arrived at that figure. Experts warn that although the new rule may save some companies money, it could cost trillions in climate and health spending. Climate rules targeted by EPA could prevent tens of thousands of deaths According to an analysis by Associated Press It was found in July.
“Trump and Zeldin are telling our families: As long as oil and gas CEOs can make a profit, we will let you get sicker and let your health care costs skyrocket,” said Alex Witt, senior counsel at the environmental advocacy group Climate Power.
The finding of danger forms the legal basis for nearly all federal climate regulations, including for vehicles, oil and gas operations, and power plants. But the last rule is Zeldin he told the Wall Street Journal this weekIt would only apply to emissions standards on cars and trucks, not those that manage stationary sources such as power plants.
EPA has not directly confirmed the scope of the planned change. The spokesperson said: “A Finding of Hazard is the legal prerequisite used by the Obama and Biden administrations to justify trillions of dollars of greenhouse gas regulations covering new vehicles and engines. In the absence of this finding, the EPA would lack the legal authority to set standards for certain motor vehicle emissions.”
Agency separately suggested finding It said emissions from power plants “do not contribute significantly to hazardous air pollution” and therefore should not be regulated.
Gretchen Goldman, president of science advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, said: “The science showing that global warming emissions are harming human health and the environment became clear in 2009 and is even more undeniable today.
“EPA has a legal obligation to regulate this pollution under the Clean Air Act,” said Goldman, who previously served at the Department of Transportation and the White House. “The American people deserve a government that will confront the climate crisis head on, with proven policy solutions, and not actively serve as agents of destruction by making the situation worse to increase fossil fuel profits.”
