EPA Climate Authority Reversed, Marking a Historic Shift in U.S. Environmental Policy
The New York Times reported that President Trump has revoked the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” the scientific determination that greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and welfare. That finding had served as the legal foundation for federal regulation of carbon dioxide, methane, and other emissions under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades. By eliminating it, the administration is asserting that climate change does not constitute a direct, legally actionable threat and is moving to dismantle limits on emissions from vehicles, power plants, and other major sources. Officials framed the move as a historic deregulatory effort intended to reduce costs for industry and consumers, arguing that previous climate policies harmed sectors such as manufacturing and constrained energy development.
Critics—including scientists, environmental organizations, and many state leaders—say the reversal rejects decades of established research linking greenhouse gases to rising temperatures, extreme weather, and public-health risks, and they have vowed legal challenges. Analysts warn that without the endangerment finding, future federal climate regulations could be severely constrained, potentially increasing U.S. emissions and shifting authority to states, which may adopt their own stricter rules. The decision marks a sharp break from prior bipartisan acknowledgment of climate risks and could reshape U.S. environmental policy, energy markets, and the country’s role in global climate efforts for years to come.