EPA proposes ending climate endangerment findings

At an auto dealership in Indiana, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin today released the agency’s proposal to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which is the legal prerequisite used by the Obama and Biden administrations to regulate emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines and the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.Absent the endangerment finding, EPA would lack statutory authority under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to prescribe standards for greenhouse gas emissions, EPA noted in a news release.

EPA said, “This proposal, if finalized, is expected to save Americans $54 billion in costs annually through the repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the Biden EPA’s electric vehicle mandate, under conservative economic forecasts.”If finalized, this proposal would remove all greenhouse gas standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines, starting with EPA’s first greenhouse gas set in 2010 for light-duty vehicles and those set in 2011 for medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles and engines — which includes off-cycle credits like the much hated start-stop feature on most new cars.”EPA said it will initiate a public comment period to solicit input. Further information on the public comment process and instructions for participation will be published in the Federal Register and on the EPA website.

“With this proposal, the Trump EPA is proposing to end 16 years of uncertainty for automakers and American consumers,” said Zeldin. “In our work so far, many stakeholders have told me that the Obama and Biden EPAs twisted the law, ignored precedent, and warped science to achieve their preferred ends and stick American families with hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden taxes every single year. We heard loud and clear the concern that EPA’s GHG emissions standards themselves – not carbon dioxide, which the Finding never assessed independently – was the real threat to Americans’ livelihoods. If finalized, rescinding the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations would end $1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families.” The House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition said in a statement, “EPA Administrator Zeldin’s decision today to overturn the landmark Endangerment Finding represents a disturbing new level of extreme science denial by the very agency entrusted to protect the American public from pollution. The scientific consensus is overwhelming and has been well-established for decades — greenhouse gas pollution from cars, power plants, and factories is causing climate change and climate change is endangering our public health and welfare. This is not theoretical. We can see it with our very own eyes. Whether it’s the catastrophic flash floods in Texas, the wildfires that demolished Californian communities, or the scorching heat dome currently enveloping half of the U.S., it is no longer a question whether climate change endangers our lives. Climate change is already wreaking havoc across America. By ignoring the overwhelming scientific consensus, contradicting the clear statutory language in the Clean Air Act, and overriding repeated Supreme Court rulings, EPA has revealed today just how far it will go to be every polluter’s ally.”

–The Hagstrom Report