The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to roll back a key part of US climate policy by rescinding the 2009 “endangerment finding,” according to a report published by The Associated Press early Tuesday. The declaration, the report said, established that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threaten public health, forming the legal basis for the Clean Air Act regulations governing vehicles, power plants, among other things.
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin touted the proposal on the Ruthless podcast as “the largest deregulatory action in the history of America” and reportedly said, “They created this endangerment finding and then…regulate out of existence, in many cases, a lot of segments of our economy.”
Deregulation Drive and Broader Rollbacks
Zeldin had previously called the endangerment finding “the Holy Grail of the climate change religion” and had said that he was “thrilled to end it … usher in the Golden Age of American success,” as reported by the news agency.
🚨In what would amount to one of the largest deregulatory actions in the history of the United States, the Trump EPA is proposing to rescind the 2009 Obama EPA Endangerment Finding which has been used to foolishly inflict over $1 TRILLION in economic pain on the American people.…
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) July 29, 2025
His plan, announced in March, includes rolling back or repealing 31 major environmental regulations, covering clean air, water, and climate protections.
According to the report, the EPA is also targetting tailpipe emissions standards meant to nudge automakers toward electric vehicles, despite transportation being the top source of greenhouse emissions in the US.
Alarm Sounded On Climate and Legal Fronts
Environmental advocates say the Trump administration is denying scientific reality. Christy Goldfuss of the Natural Resources Defense Council told AP, “As Americans reel from deadly floods and heat waves, the Trump team is trying to argue that the emissions turbocharging these disasters are not a threat. … It boggles the mind.”
Former EPA heads also slammed the move. Christine Todd Whitman, who led the agency under President George Washington Bush, warned that the rollback endangers millions and contradicts the environmental agency’s mission to protect public health.
Legal Battles Likely Ahead
The repeal is subject to a lengthy public review before finalisation – likely next year – and environmental groups are expected to challenge it in court. David Doniger of NRDC called it a potential “kill shot” that could dismantle all climate rules, warning that repeal would erase limits on greenhouse gases from cars, factories, and power plants.
“Attacking these safeguards is callous, dangerous and a breach of our government’s responsibility to protect the American people,” the publication quoted Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund as saying.
Conrad Schneider from the Clean Air Task Force told AP that the Trump administration appears to use pollution control as a scapegoat for broader energy issues, lamenting that “an administration that claims it cares about cleaner, healthier and safer air is seeking to dismantle the very protections required.”
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