The Trump administration has moved to dismantle a central pillar of U.S. climate policy by proposing to repeal the government’s finding that carbon dioxide emissions endanger public health.
The “endangerment finding,” adopted in 2009, allows the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars, power plants, and industries. Without it, the agency would lose its legal authority to limit carbon pollution.
EPA Authority Over Emissions Threatened
“This is the cornerstone of modern U.S. climate regulation,” said Lisa Friedman, a reporter who covers climate policy for The New York Times. “If the finding is overturned, the EPA cannot regulate greenhouse gases at all.”
The proposal comes as the National Academies of Sciences released new evidence showing that greenhouse gases are harmful to human health and ecosystems. The report reinforced decades of research linking fossil fuel emissions to rising temperatures, stronger storms, and sea level rise.
The administration has already reduced funding for federal climate research. It cut the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a 35-year effort to study climate change impacts. Hundreds of scientists were dismissed from work on the next National Climate Assessment, a report used by states and cities to prepare for disasters.
The White House has also ordered changes in energy development. Tax credits for wind and solar projects are being phased out, and construction on a $6 billion wind farm was halted by presidential order in August. Trump has long criticized wind energy, dating back to his opposition to a Scottish offshore project near one of his golf courses.
Supreme Court Review Could Reshape
Scientists warn that rolling back the endangerment finding could have permanent consequences. In a lawsuit, the Supreme Court could revisit its 2007 decision that first allowed the government to regulate greenhouse gases. If that precedent is overturned, even a future president may not be able to restore regulations.
The administration has also reduced the collection of key climate data. An extreme-weather database that tracked disaster costs since 1980 has been retired. Large industrial plants are no longer required to report greenhouse gas emissions. Funding cuts threaten the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, which has measured carbon dioxide daily for nearly 70 years.
For communities already facing stronger storms, wildfires, and heat waves, the impact of these decisions could be direct. State and local governments rely on federal research and data to prepare evacuation plans, strengthen infrastructure, and assess public health risks.
The proposed repeal of the endangerment finding is open to public comment and is expected to face lawsuits from environmental groups and several states. But officials inside the administration see the effort as a victory.
Legal experts say the fight over the endangerment finding will be one of the most important climate battles in U.S. history. The outcome could determine whether the government has any role in controlling greenhouse gas emissions in the years ahead.
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