The EPA’s Endangerment Finding
The Trump administration is rejecting the legal and scientific basis for cutting climate-changing pollution.
In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its science-based finding that the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare. This “endangerment finding” requires the EPA to take action under the Clean Air Act to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and four more heat-trapping air pollutants from vehicles, power plants, and other industries.
The endangerment finding reflects the overwhelming scientific evidence on the causes and impacts of climate change. It was made after a thorough rulemaking process that considered thousands of public comments and was upheld by the federal courts. In the years since, the scientific basis for the endangerment finding has only gotten stronger.
However, the EPA, now embracing President Trump’s climate denial, is proposing to revoke the endangerment finding and to repeal standards for motor vehicles and power plants. This reversal blatantly ignores scientific and legal consensus.
READ THE FULL FACT SHEET
NRDC federal climate legal director Meredith Hankins explains why the endangerment finding is so critical to our fight against climate change and how the EPA’s repeal of it not only goes against overwhelming scientific evidence but also has no legal standing.
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