The Trump administration moved Tuesday to overturn a 16-year-old scientific finding that has allowed three administrations to regulate pollution that causes climate change.
The plan announced by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to revoke the so-called endangerment finding marks an escalation by President Donald Trump to uproot federal authority over industries that release greenhouse gases.
Zeldin indicated that his proposal will argue that the 2009 finding was based on faulty interpretations of the Clean Air Act by the Obama administration — meaning EPA is trying to target technicalities in the process rather than attack the finding’s scientific determination that climate pollution threatens public health.
The proposal was announced jointly with a draft rule that would roll back Biden-era standards for reducing greenhouse gases from cars and trucks.
The assault on the endangerment finding underscores Trump’s growing aggressiveness toward climate policy compared with his first term, when he disappointed hard-right advisers by deciding to leave the finding in place.
The finding underpins almost all Clean Air Act regulations for greenhouse gas emissions. It has enabled EPA to pursue climate regulations on power plants, oil and gas operations, and vehicles. Repealing the finding, if the courts uphold Trump’s move, could make it easier for EPA to quickly undo Biden-era climate rules without replacing them with new standards.
