EPA to Repeal Scientific Finding that is Basis of U.S. Climate Change Policy

The Trump administration is set to revoke a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for US action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change, the White House announced, Matthew Daly reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The Obama-era policy determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) endanger public health and welfare. (Photo: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency) 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue a final rule rescinding a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding. That Obama-era policy determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) endanger public health and welfare.

President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will “formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding” at a White House ceremony, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

The action “will be the largest deregulatory action in American history, and it will save the American people $1.3 trillion in crushing regulations,” she said.

The bulk of the savings will stem from reduced costs for new vehicles, with the EPA projecting average per-vehicle savings of more than $2,400 for popular light-duty cars, SUVs, and trucks, Leavitt said.

The endangerment finding is the legal underpinning of nearly all climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants, and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.