Trump to revoke climate risk finding
The Trump administration said it will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations.
If finalized, the repeal would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plant smokestacks and other sources, and hamper future U.S. efforts to combat global warming.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency's plan to rescind the "endangerment finding" at an event at a car dealership in Indiana, alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and called it the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.
He argued the move reflected the will of U.S. voters for the regulator to protect the economy.
"We at the Trump EPA, under the leadership of President Trump, choose to both protect the environment and grow the economy," he said.
Republican President Donald Trump has cast doubt on climate change, even as a consensus of scientists warns that global temperature rise driven by human activity is triggering more frequent devastating storms, wildfires, and floods.
The proposal, which needs to undergo a public comment period, would cut $54 billion in costs annually through the repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the vehicle tailpipe standard, he said.
Environmental groups blasted the move, saying it spells the end of the road for U.S. action against climate change, even as the impacts of global warming become more severe.
The move is expected to trigger legal challenges, according to several environmental groups, states and lawyers.
In 2009, the EPA under former Democratic President Barack Obama issued a finding that emissions from new motor vehicles contribute to pollution and endanger public health and welfare.
The EPA plans to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles and engines in the coming days after it removes the scientific finding that justified those rules, according to a summary.
