Trump repeals landmark climate rule, axing emissions rules for vehicles
The Trump administration announced it has finalized a rule repealing the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which concluded that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. This repeal removes the basis for EPA vehicle-emission regulations and finalizes a rule to eliminate tailpipe standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines, effectively rolling back comprehensive emissions rules implemented in the Biden era. The administration argues the move will reduce regulatory burdens and save consumers money on new vehicles, while critics say it abandons protections against pollution and climate change and will harm health, homes, and the economy. Democratic senators and environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, vow to challenge the action in court, contending it disregards scientific evidence and public welfare. The article situates the move within broader efforts to favor fossil fuels over renewable energy and to roll back other climate-related policies.
Trump repeals landmark climate rule, axing emissions rules for vehicles
The Trump administration has reversed a landmark environmental finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health, weakening vehicle emissions standards.
The effort is the most aggressive action yet to undo rules imposed by Democratic presidents that environmentalists argue are key to curbing climate change but that Republicans say have harmed domestic industries and forced consumers into expensive electric vehicles.
President Donald Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced Thursday at the White House that the agency has finalized a rule, proposed last year, that would repeal the 2009 endangerment finding, which concluded that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, pose a threat to public health and welfare. The repeal will immediately roll back emissions regulations for autos and will set the stage for further cuts to regulations on emissions from power plants and other factors.
“The Endangerment Finding has been the source of 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” Zeldin said in a press release.
“As EPA Administrator, I am proud to deliver the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history on behalf of American taxpayers and consumers,” he said.
The 2009 endangerment finding was issued during the Obama administration in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which affirmed that greenhouse gas emissions are pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The finding has served as a legal basis for the EPA to regulate vehicles.
As part of the proposal to repeal the endangerment finding, the EPA has also finalized a rule to eliminate tailpipe emission standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.
The emission standards implemented by the Biden administration gave auto manufacturers several options to meet emission targets, including by producing electric vehicles, hybrids, or advanced technology vehicles.
Zeldin said the repeal would save Americans $2,400 on a new vehicle.
Cars and trucks are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The Trump administration has sought to repeal policies imposed by the Biden administration that promote electric vehicle adoption, which the Trump team has derided as an “EV mandate.” For instance, the administration has repealed an arrangement that allowed California to impose its own emissions regulations and eventually ban sales of gas cars. It also repealed subsidies for consumer purchases of electric vehicles.
The EPA rule does not directly regulate other pollutants, but the EPA has used the finding to justify regulating emissions from fossil fuel sources such as power plants and oil and gas drilling. The repeal of the finding aligns with the administration’s support for fossil fuel energy sources, while shifting away from renewable energy.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environmental Public Works, said that the EPA has “abandoned” protecting Americans from pollution and climate change to instead support the fossil fuel industry.
“This shameful abdication—an economic, moral, and political failure—will harm Americans’ health, homes, and economic well-being,” the senators said in a statement. “It ignores scientific fact and common-sense observations to serve big political donors.”
Shortly after the Trump administration repealed the Endangerment Finding, the Environmental Defense Fund announced it would challenge the EPA in court. EDF said the Supreme Court has already affirmed that the Clean Air Act requires the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
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EDF president Fred Krupp said that Zeldin “has directed EPA to stop protecting the American people from the pollution that’s causing worse storms, floods, and skyrocketing insurance costs.”
“The unlawful, yearlong effort by the political leadership at EPA rejects the overwhelming evidence that climate pollution threatens everyone’s health and safety,” he added.
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