US rejects landmark ruling that sets limits on carbon emissions

2025-07-29 22:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Trump administration has announced a plan to overturn a landmark finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to the environment, severely limiting the federal government’s ability to combat climate change.
Known as the “Finding of Danger,” the 2009 order by then-President Barack Obama allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create rules to limit pollution by setting emissions standards. The
U.S. is a major contributor to global climate change, second only to China, which emits more planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide, and the U.S. still emits more per person.
Experts have warned that the move could have a devastating impact on the environment.
President Donald Trump has long argued that climate regulations hinder U.S. economic growth and, on his first day in office in January, ordered the EPA to submit recommendations “on the legality and continued enforceability” of the Finding of Hazard.

The Finding of Endangerment stems from a 2007 Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that greenhouse gases are “air pollutants” — meaning that the EPA has the authority and responsibility to regulate them under the U.S. Clean Air Act.
In 2009, the EPA issued a formal decision, the Finding of Endangerment, which found that greenhouse gas emissions from sources such as cars, power plants, and factories cause climate change and may pose a risk to public health.
The decision forms the core of the federal government’s authority to set limits on carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases.

In a statement, the EPA said that, if finalized, the measure would save Americans $54 billion (£40 billion) in costs each year by repealing greenhouse gas standards, including a mandate for electric vehicles passed by the Biden administration.
Speaking on an episode of the conservative podcast “Ruthless” released on Tuesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move was “essentially driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.”
Zeldin said the emissions standards were a “distraction” and that changing policies was “an economic issue.” “Repealing it would be the largest deregulatory action in American history,” he said.
In a previous statement on the review of the findings in March, Zeldin said that “the Trump Administration will not sacrifice national prosperity, energy security, and the freedom of our people for an agenda that hinders our industries, our mobility, and our consumer choice, while benefiting adversaries abroad.”
The EPA’s new draft rule will now undergo a public comment period before undergoing interagency review.
If successful, the rule would immediately repeal regulations governing vehicle tailpipe emissions.

According to the EPA statement, the revocation of these standards will begin with those set in 2010 for light-duty vehicles, as well as those set in 2011 for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines.
The EPA’s move is likely to face legal challenges, and some experts have questioned whether the administration’s decision will even make it through the courts.
But Richard Revesz, former administrator of the Office of Regulatory Affairs and Information in the Biden administration and a law professor at New York University, told the Washington Post that the announcement will still have an impact on U.S. climate change policy until a final decision is made in the court system.
“If the finding of endangerment is overturned, it would essentially call into question all or almost all of EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gases,” he said.

Also among those condemning the announcement was California Governor Gavin Newsom, who in a joint statement with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers accused the Trump administration of a "reckless abandonment of science and the law."
"Americans deserve to know the truth from the federal government about the climate crisis. No amount of research buybacks or firings of scientists will change the facts: greenhouse gas pollution causes climate change and endangers our health and well-being, period," the statement said./ CNA, translated by BBC