"Dead, gone, over": Trump scraps research behind US climate regulations

Trump has revoked a foundational scientific ruling that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health, demolishing the legal underpinning of the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to act on climate change under the Clean Air Act. 

The landmark ruling was published by the EPA in 2009 under Obama. It has served as the linchpin of US greenhouse gas regulation – from auto exhaust standards to caps on emissions from power plants. 

Trump’s administration has made previous attempts to repeal many of these climate regulations, but this latest move could prevent future presidents from reestablishing any regulations to combat climate change. 

Environmentalists have called it one of the most significant rollbacks on climate change attempted by the legislation, and they are set to challenge it in the courts.

‘This is a big one if you’re into environment [sic],’ President Trump said yesterday at the White House.

He added the move would eliminate $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs, and would cause car prices to come ‘tumbling down. Trump provided no evidence behind these claims, and many environmental groups are sceptical of these cost savings. 

He described prior climate regulations as a ‘green new scam’ and blamed them for blackouts and inflation.

‘That’s all dead, gone, over,’ he said.