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The Trump administration has terminated a scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health and welfare, a move that will make it harder for future administrations to regulate fossil fuels under the Clean Air Act. Needless to say, experts are stunned and dismayed, with one calling it a “dark day for science and health,” while another suggested it’s a good day for Big Oil executives.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.On February 12, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a decision to revoke an Obama-era decision that underpins nearly all US climate regulations.
In 2009, the EPA reviewed extensive scientific evidence and officially concluded that fossil fuel emissions pose a danger to public health and welfare. Known as the “Endangerment Finding”, this made it easier to pass laws that regulate greenhouse gases, such as new standards for cars and other vehicles.
This finding has now been gutted in what President Trump, who called climate change a "con job" at the United Nations General Assembly last year, described as “the single largest deregulatory action in American history”.
“This is a big one if you’re into environment,” he told reporters, announcing the move. “This is about as big as it gets, they tell me.”
Trump has long erroneously claimed climate change is a hoax, without providing evidence of his claim. In contrast, 99.9 percent of peer-reviewed studies – over 88,000 of them – agree that climate change, exacerbated by fossil fuels, is caused by humans and is a danger to public health.
According to Trump, the regulations had been hampering the American automobile industry and restricting consumer choice. He said, “You're going to get a better car. You're going to get a car that starts easier, a car that works better for a lot less money.”
“In 2009, Barack Hussein Obama – his EPA – designated fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, and other things that actually make factories 'rock and roll,' and other things drive very nicely, as a threat to health and human welfare. Known as the Endangerment Finding, this determination had no basis, in fact, had none whatsoever, and it had no basis in law,” Trump added.
Trump also claimed the EPA’s former Endangerment Finding massively drove up prices for American consumers, noting the recent decision will slash over $1.3 trillion of regulatory costs. However, some commentators have questioned whether these financial benefits will actually be felt by everyday Americans.
“Every person and business in America should be alarmed that the US government is walking away from its responsibility to protect their health and their wallets,” David Widawsky, the US Director of the World Resources Institute, said in a statement.
“Most people have never heard of this safeguard — the “endangerment” finding — but repealing it sends a clear message: this government doesn’t care. It doesn’t care that hotter summers are driving up energy bills and sending people to emergency rooms. It doesn’t care that extreme weather is raising homeowner insurance, pricing families out of mortgages and homes. It doesn’t care that many businesses will now no longer be protected from lawsuits over climate effects. It doesn’t care that farmers are losing crops and livestock, raising the price of groceries,” noted Widawsky.
“The bottom line is that repealing these protections will make everyday life more expensive, more risky and more uncertain for Americans,” he continued.
Beyond economics, scientists and climate groups have warned that revoking the finding undermines decades of peer-reviewed research and the overwhelming scientific consensus that greenhouse gases are driving global warming, which is a significant danger to human health.
By dismantling the scientific basis that underpins federal climate policy, they argue, the administration is sidelining evidence-based decision-making and weakening the government’s ability to respond to mounting climate-related threats to health, the environment, and the global economy.
“This is a dark day for science and health. Climate change harms health – period. By refusing to acknowledge and act on this, America’s health will suffer preventable harm. Overturning the Endangerment Finding and eliminating cleaner vehicles rules will result in more air pollution, more frequent and intense disasters like wildfires and floods, and increased risk of diseases, making lung health worse across the US,” Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in a statement.
Tim Donaghy, Greenpeace USA Research Director, said: “The laws of physics don’t care about Donald Trump. They don’t care about his constant lies and they don’t care about his insincere report full of cherry-picked data. Burning more fossil fuels will absolutely put Americans in greater danger – that’s irrefutable.”
“Make no mistake, while this move may pad the pockets of Big Oil executives, it leaves the rest of us to pay the price. It will make us all sicker, increase our energy bills, deepen our dependence on risky and expensive fuels, slow the transition to a healthier economy, and push the planet to ever higher temperatures,” noted Donaghy.
