US EPA announces intention to rescind landmark "endangerment finding" underpinning regulation of climate change
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to eliminate a foundational legal finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health, unraveling the backbone of federal climate protections.
Jake Spring and Anusha Mathur report for The Washington Post.
In short:
- The EPA proposed scrapping the 2009 “endangerment finding,” a cornerstone of U.S. climate regulation that empowered the agency to limit greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
- If finalized, the rule would gut emissions rules for vehicles and power plants and tie the hands of future administrations from reimposing them — setting up a likely Supreme Court showdown.
- Industry groups cheered the move, while scientists and former officials slammed it as politically motivated and dismissive of overwhelming evidence that climate change harms health and well-being.
Key quote:
“The National Climate Assessment provides over 2,000 pages of detailed evidence that climate change harms our health and welfare, but you can also ask the millions of Americans who have lost their homes and livelihoods to extreme fires, floods and storms that are only getting worse.”
— Zealan Hoover, former senior adviser to the EPA administrator under President Joe Biden
Why this matters:
Without the endangerment finding, federal efforts to curb carbon pollution could collapse, leaving people more vulnerable to climate-fueled disasters — from asthma and heart disease to extreme weather. It removes the very foundation of climate regulation in the U.S., designed not just to clear the way for polluters now, but to prevent future administrations from taking action to protect the public.
Read more: What’s happening to EPA-funded community projects under Trump?
