by Natalia Mittelstadt
President Trump is set to repeal an Obama-era climate finding that was the basis for federal greenhouse-gas regulation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Repealing the finding, which was a scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, would remove the legal basis for greenhouse gas regulation, Reuters reported.
The repeal is expected to be published later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the repeal would be “the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States.”
With the repeal, regulatory requirements to measure, report, certify, and comply with federal GHG emission standards for cars would be removed, administration officials told the Journal. However, the repeal would not apply to stationary sources such as power plants.
An EPA spokesperson said the finding was used by the Obama and Biden administrations to “justify trillions of dollars of greenhouse gas regulations covering new vehicles and engines.”
Last month, a federal court ruled that the Department of Energy violated the law when it formed a climate science advisory group to produce a climate assessment report, because it convened the group without public meetings or notice. The Environmental Defense Fund and Union of Concerned Scientists had filed the lawsuit. Both groups oppose the use of fossil fuels, and they are concerned that the DOE report will be used to support a repeal of the endangerment finding.
The American Petroleum Institute said last month that it supported a repeal of the finding for vehicles but that it should be left in place for stationary sources, which would require the EPA to regulate methane from the oil and gas sector.
Trump has taken several steps to roll back some of the Biden administration’s environmental regulations.
In July, Trump signed an executive order that ended subsidies for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
“The proliferation of these projects displaces affordable, reliable, dispatchable domestic energy sources, compromises our electric grid, and denigrates the beauty of our Nation’s natural landscape,” the executive order said.
On top of this, Trump expanded oil drilling access in Alaska.
“Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The 2024 rule ignored that mandate, prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical. We’re restoring the balance and putting our energy future back on track.”
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Natalia Mittelstadt is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “EPA Worker” by EPA.
