The administration of President Donald Trump plans to announce the repeal of a scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to human health, a move that would remove the statutory underpinning for nationwide federal climate regulations.
That so-called endangerment finding was first adopted in 2009 and served as the basis for the Environmental Protection Agency to act under the Clean Air Act of 1963 to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and four other heat-trapping pollutants from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources. Officials say the planned repeal would eliminate the legal obligation to measure, report, certify and comply with federal greenhouse gas standards for cars.
Officials told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that the repeal may not initially extend to stationary sources such as power plants, though that characterization has not been independently confirmed by Reuters. The transportation and power sectors each account for roughly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to EPA figures cited in the original finding.
President Trump has publicly questioned the reality of climate change, calling it a hoax, and has withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement, removing the nation from that international climate effort. The planned rescission of the endangerment finding represents the most significant rollback of federal climate policy to date by this administration, following a series of regulatory changes intended to ease restrictions on fossil fuel development and slow the expansion of clean energy measures.
Industry groups have generally supported weaker vehicle emissions standards, but many have been hesitant to endorse a move to rescind the endangerment finding itself because of the legal and regulatory uncertainty that could follow. Legal experts warn that eliminating the federal finding could open alternate paths for litigation.
"This may be another classic case where overreach by the Trump administration comes back to bite it," said Robert Percival, a University of Maryland environmental law professor.
One such pathway critics and lawyers point to is a potential surge in public nuisance lawsuits. That legal route had been largely closed off after a 2011 Supreme Court decision that left greenhouse gas regulation to the EPA rather than the courts. Repealing the endangerment finding could revive litigation options that had been constrained by that ruling.
Environmental organizations have criticized the proposed action as a threat to the climate. The administration's planned step would mean future U.S. governments seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions would likely have to reinstate the endangerment finding, a process observers say could present complex political and legal obstacles.
Background limitations
Reports indicate the repeal would affect vehicle-related federal obligations to measure and certify emissions under existing greenhouse gas standards, while the initial effect on stationary emitters such as power plants remains unclear and unverified by the reporting organization. The administration's move is framed by its broader deregulatory agenda on energy and environment matters.