Climate: What is the “Endangerment Finding,” the provision Trump wants to abolish?
A new setback for the climate and the health of Americans. The US administration announced on Tuesday, July 30, that it was reversing a key decision for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, the Endangerment Finding. This decision could constitute "the largest deregulatory measure in the history of the United States," said Lee Zeldin, a former Republican elected official appointed head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Donald Trump. It could come into effect in 45 days, after its official publication and a mandatory public consultation.
The Endangerment Finding is not a law per se, but a body of scientific evidence, published in 2009 by the EPA, which serves as the legal basis for numerous regulations aimed at combating global warming. This decision originated in the Massachusetts v. EPA case, decided in 2007 by the Supreme Court. Previously, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency believed it was not authorized to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But twelve U.S. states filed a lawsuit to force it to do so, and the Supreme Court ruled in their favor.
Emphasizing the danger of these gases to public health, the highest court in the United States ruled that the EPA had the authority to regulate their emissions under the 1970 Clean Air Act . The federal Environmental Protection Agency was then tasked with conducting a scientific study to determine which greenhouse gases were dangerous to the health and well-being of current and future generations.
Two years later, with the "Endangerment Finding," the EPA classified six pollutants in this category: carbon dioxide, methane , nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
This decision allowed the US agency to regulate emissions of these pollutants from vehicles, aircraft, power plants, and even oil and gas operations. Last year, for example, the EPA decided to tighten standards for cars and trucks produced between 2027 and 2032, which should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 7.2 billion tons by 2055, according to its own estimates.
Although the 2009 endangerment conclusion enjoys broad scientific consensus, Lee Zelding, the current head of the EPA, said Tuesday that the agency had taken "intellectual shortcuts" when making the decision. "There are people who, in the name of climate change , are prepared to ruin the country," the former Republican congressman said.
If the plan to reverse this decision goes into effect, it "is expected to save Americans $54 billion annually by repealing all greenhouse gas standards," the EPA said in a statement, although the agency did not provide an analysis to confirm its figures.
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