Trump revokes basis of US fight against climate change

The US Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn the 2009 “endangerment finding,” the scientific and legal determination that greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. This move, long sought by opponents of federal climate action, strikes at the core authority used for more than a decade to curb emissions from vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities.

What the rollback does

By nullifying the endangerment finding, the administration has erased federal greenhouse gas standards for new cars and trucks and opened the door to unraveling limits on pollution from stationary sources such as power plants, refineries, and oil and gas infrastructure. Policy experts expect immediate legal challenges, setting up a high-stakes court battle over how—if at all—the Clean Air Act can be used to address climate pollution.

A clash over science, law, and authority

At a White House event heralding the decision, the president called it “the single largest deregulatory action in American history, by far,” and labeled the original finding “one of the greatest scams in history,” asserting it lacked factual and legal grounding. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin characterized the rescinded finding as “the Holy Grail of federal regulatory overreach,” arguing it enabled agencies to impose sweeping, costly rules in the name of climate mitigation.

Climate scientists and public health experts overwhelmingly conclude that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases warm the planet, amplifying extreme weather, sea-level rise, and health risks. The 2009 determination was built on a substantial scientific record and provided the legal foundation for emissions standards across multiple sectors. Its removal creates uncertainty not only for environmental policy but also for industries that rely on regulatory clarity for long-term planning.

Environmental and health stakes

Environmental advocates condemned the change as the most consequential attack on federal climate authority to date. They warn it will lead to higher emissions, worsening air quality, and escalating climate damages—from deadly heatwaves and more intense wildfires to flooding that threatens homes, infrastructure, and water supplies. One leading nonprofit said Americans would bear the financial and health costs of increased pollution, with vulnerable communities hit hardest.

Vehicle rules in limbo

Alongside the repeal, the EPA said it would propose a two-year delay to implementing limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks that were introduced in the last administration. Automakers now face a patchwork future in which federal standards are weakened or stalled, while some states may seek to hold the line with their own stricter rules—another potential flashpoint for litigation.

Legal backdrop and likely court fight

The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, obligating the EPA to act if they endanger public health or welfare. That decision set the stage for the 2009 endangerment finding and the suite of regulations that followed. Revoking the finding attempts to remove the very trigger that compelled federal action, a move legal scholars say will be vigorously contested in court.

Reactions from former officials

Former EPA leaders and climate advisors from previous administrations blasted the decision as reckless and shortsighted, warning it undermines decades of bipartisan progress on clean air protections. A former president warned the repeal would leave Americans less safe and less healthy, while weakening the country’s ability to confront climate risks—benefiting fossil fuel interests at the public’s expense.

Economic arguments sharpen

Supporters of the rollback argue that prior climate rules imposed heavy costs and slowed economic growth, with Zeldin contending that earlier regulators were willing to “bankrupt the country” in pursuit of emissions cuts. Opponents counter that climate regulation spurs innovation, reduces health care costs by cutting smog and soot, and shields communities and businesses from the mounting price tag of climate-fueled disasters.

What’s next

If the repeal stands, current limits on greenhouse gas pollution for vehicles, power plants, and factories could vanish, and future administrations may find it far harder to restore them. States are likely to intensify their own climate policies, and companies may face diverging requirements across jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the physical impacts of a warming planet—extreme heat, stronger storms, drought, and rising seas—continue to accelerate, adding urgency to the policy vacuum now opening at the federal level.

The courts will now decide whether the EPA can legally abandon the scientific bedrock that has guided US climate action for more than a decade—or whether the agency remains obligated to protect public health from greenhouse gas pollution under the nation’s cornerstone air quality law.