President Trump dismantles the legal basis for US climate regulations, revoking a key EPA finding and eliminating vehicle greenhouse gas standards.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has revoked a landmark scientific finding that underpins US regulations to curb planet-warming pollution. The move marks his administration’s most significant rollback of climate policy to date.
The repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding” was paired with the immediate elimination of greenhouse gas standards for automobiles. It also places a host of other climate rules in jeopardy, including carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and methane leaks for oil and gas producers.
Legal challenges are expected to follow swiftly. “This determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and no basis in law,” Trump said at a White House event.
The president dismissed concerns that the repeal could cost lives by worsening climate change. “I tell them, don’t worry about it, because it has nothing to do with public health,” Trump said. “This was all a scam, a giant scam.”
The administration framed the measure as a cost-saving move, claiming it would generate more than USD 1 trillion in regulatory savings. It argued the change would bring down new car costs by thousands of dollars.
The announcement immediately drew condemnation from Democrats and environmental groups. Former president Barack Obama, under whose government the finding was created, warned “We’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.”
Manish Bapna, president of the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, called it the “single biggest attack in history on the United States federal government’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis.” The 2009 finding was a determination based on scientific consensus that six greenhouse gases threaten public health by fueling climate change.
It resulted from a prolonged legal battle ending in a 2007 Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA. That ruling stated greenhouse gases qualify as pollutants under the Clean Air Act and directed the EPA to determine if they pose a danger.
While it initially applied only to vehicle emissions, it later became the legal foundation for a broader suite of climate regulations. The final text of the repeal will be closely scrutinized for its legal arguments.
Procedurally, the draft proposal argued greenhouse gases should not be treated as traditional pollutants. It contended their effects on human health are indirect and global rather than local, and regulating them within US borders cannot meaningfully resolve a worldwide problem.
The Supreme Court has re-affirmed the endangerment finding multiple times, including as recently as 2022. Critics also say the scientific arguments for repeal are shaky.
The draft repeal sought to downplay the impact of human-caused climate change. It cited a study commissioned by an Energy Department working group of skeptics that challenged the scientific consensus.
That report was widely panned by researchers, who said it was riddled with errors and misrepresented studies. The working group itself was disbanded following a lawsuit by nonprofits that argued it was improperly convened.
The administration has leaned heavily on putative cost savings without detailing how its figures were calculated. Environmental advocates say the administration is ignoring the other side of the ledger.
They cite lives saved from reduced pollution and fuel savings from more efficient vehicles. Advocates also warn the rollback would skew the market toward more gas-guzzling cars and trucks.
This move could undermine the American auto industry’s ability to compete in the global race toward electric vehicles.
The Sun Malaysia
