In a move that environmental advocates have described as "cynical and devastating", the Trump administration has delivered its most confrontational anti-climate action yet - repealing the landmark 2009 "endangerment finding" that gave the federal government the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
What this really means is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can no longer impose limits on planet-warming pollution from vehicles, power plants, and other major industrial sources. As The Guardian explains, the endangerment finding was the legal foundation that enabled the government to control climate-heating emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Trump Claims "Largest Deregulatory Action"
Speaking at a White House event on Thursday, Trump described the move as "the single largest deregulatory action in American history". CNN reports that the repeal will strip the EPA of its ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, undoing one of the most significant climate policies of the Obama era.
The bigger picture here is that this is part of Trump's wider assault on climate action, which has included withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and rolling back a slew of other environmental regulations. Environmentalists warn that without the endangerment finding, the government will be powerless to address the growing climate crisis.
"This has nothing to do with public health," Trump said on Thursday. "This is all a scam, a giant scam." However, recent analysis suggests the public overwhelmingly supports action on climate change, putting the President at odds with the will of the people.
With the 2024 election looming, Trump's rollback of climate policy could become a major political liability. As another recent article explored, voters are increasingly prioritizing environmental issues. Trump's victory lap may be short-lived if Americans reject his fossil fuel-friendly agenda at the ballot box.