EPA plans to ignore science, stop regulating greenhouse gases

The Trump administration has proposed curbing the government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gases by unwinding rules that control emissions from fossil fuel drilling, power plants, and cars.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday announced the proposed rollback of a 2009 declaration that determined carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare.

“With this proposal, the Trump EPA is proposing to end 16 years of uncertainty for automakers and American consumers,” said Zeldin.

Earlier in the day, Zeldin said on the conservative “Ruthless” podcast that the rescission would be the “largest deregulatory action in the history of America,” which will “driv[e] a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.”

The move is the latest effort by the Trump administration to pare back environmental standards, which it has framed as antithetical to economic growth and consumer choice.

Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement for the second time and ended all accompanying financial commitments. He has also suspended methane leak detection and cut electric vehicle incentives.

The so-called endangerment finding that the EPA proposed revoking on Tuesday forms the legal basis for the government’s authority to impose limits on certain emissions, which scientists say are responsible for climate change and health issues such as breathing problems.

It derives from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that named greenhouse gases as “air pollutants,” giving the EPA the mandate to regulate them under the Clean Air Act.

Critics of the rule say that the Clean Air Act was fashioned to manage localized emissions, not those responsible for global climate change.

A rollback would automatically weaken the greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and heavy-duty vehicles. Manufacturers such as Daimler and Volvo Cars have previously opposed the EPA’s efforts to tighten emission standards, while organized labour groups such as the American Trucking Association said they “put the trucking industry on a path to economic ruin.”

However, Katherine García, director of Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Campaign, said that the ruling would be “disastrous for curbing toxic truck pollution, especially in frontline communities disproportionately burdened by diesel exhaust.”

Energy experts said the move could also stall progress on developing clean energy sources such as nuclear power.

“Bipartisan support for nuclear largely rests on the fact that it doesn’t have carbon emissions,” said Ken Irvin, a partner in Sidley Austin’s global energy and infrastructure practice. “If carbon stops being considered to endanger human welfare, that might take away momentum from nuclear.”

The proposed rule from the EPA will go through a public comment period and inter-agency review. It is likely to face legal challenges from environmental activists.