The Trump administration reportedly finalized the largest regulatory action in US history on Thursday. This move effectively dismantled the legal and scientific foundation that allowed the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as a threat to human health. Furthermore it ends federal tailpipe emissions standards for cars and trucks- a move following a wave of deregulation intended to unfetter fossil fuel development.
Trump announced the repeal alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and White House budget Director Russ Vought, a key architect of conservative policy projects in 2025 who has long sought to rescind the finding. Trump, who has previously called climate change a “con job”, has withdrawn the United States from the Paris agreement, leaving the world’s largest historical contributor to global warming out of international efforts to combat it.
How will 15 years of climate policy change under the new regime?
The Trump administration has dismantled the most substantial climate policy of the last 15 years- an action the agency avoided during his first term due to industry concerns regarding legal and regulatory authority. Originally adopted in 2009, the Endangerment Finding empowered the EPA to use the Clean Air Act of 1963 to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other air pollutants arising from vehicles, power plants and industrial sources.
The transportation and power sectors are each responsible for approximately one- quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions, according to recently released EPA figures. The agency claims that repealing the endangerment finding and ending vehicle emission standards will save US taxpayers $1.3 trillion. Conversely, the previous administration estimated that the original rules would have provided $99 billion in annual net benefits through 2055. These benefits included $46 billion in reduced fuel costs, and a $16 billion reduction in maintenance and repair cost for drivers.
In this connection, America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth said: “Utilities have announced plans to retire more than 55,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation over the next five years. Reversing these retirement decisions could help offset the need to build new, more expensive electricity and prevent loss of reliability authorities..”
Automakers react to Trump’s sweeping deregulation of pollution limits
Industry groups generally back the repeal of stringent vehicle emission standards, though some have been disinclined to show public support for rescinding the Endangerment due to legal and regulatory uncertainty.
Environmental groups have excoriated the proposal repeal, labeling it a significant gas danger to the climate. Any future US administrations seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would likely need to restore the finding; however environmental groups are confident that the courts will maintain their track record of backing the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act as reported by The Reuters.
Nonetheless, several legal experts believe that the administration wants this proposal tested in the Supreme Court before Trump’s term ends, hoping the finding will be relegated to history.
