SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The Trump Administration repealed a landmark finding from 2009 that greenhouse gases endanger the public. The administration also removed climate rules for cars and trucks.
On Thursday, the Trump Administration made a major move to dismantle U.S. regulations that address climate change.
“Under the process just completed by the EPA Environmental Protection Agency, we are officially terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding,'” Trump said.
The Trump administration repealed an EPA rule that classified carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases as a threat to public health.
That finding set federal regulations for emissions standards for cars and trucks, power plants and oil and gas industry facilities.
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“Effective immediately, we are repealing the ridiculous endangerment finding and terminating all additional green emission standards imposed unnecessarily on vehicle models and engines between 2012 and 2027 and beyond,” Trump said.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move would save American consumers trillions of dollars and lower the average cost of a new vehicle by about $2,400.
Environmental experts say this is a massive blow to efforts combating climate change.
Senior Attorney David Doniger at the Natural Resources Defense Council sais his group will take legal action.
“This is a terrible decision for our health and our pocketbooks, and we are going to court to block this and keep the federal government in the business of protecting us from climate disasters,” Doniger said.
MORE: EPA considering rollback of key climate change tools that regulate greenhouse gas emissions: report
Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to the rollback by stating: “This decision betrays the American people and cements the Republican party’s status as the pro-pollution party. If this reckless decision survives legal challenges, it will lead to more deadly wildfires, more extreme heat deaths, more climate-driven floods and droughts…”
Attorney General Rob Bonta issued this response: “California will challenge this illegal action in court, and will continue fighting to defend public health, uphold environmental justice, and protect future generations.”
“Trump’s U.S. EPA is ignoring what Americans see with their own eyes: climate pollution is burning homes, killing jobs and forests, driving up insurance and food costs, and harming health across the nation,” said California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) Secretary Yana Garcia. “CalEPA will use every authority available to protect clean air, healthy land, and clean water while the federal government turns its back on the health and safety of the American people.”
“This proposal isn’t just bad policy — it’s a reckless disregard of basic science and the health of every American. When an administration sides with polluters over people, it doesn’t just abandon commonsense climate action; it abandons our country’s future. But let me be clear: California will not back down. We will continue to stand up for the right to breathe clean air and keep driving forward in every way possible. All options are on the table,” said Lauren Sanchez, chair of the California Air Resources Board.
In a statement, Dr. Erica Pan, California Department of Public Health director and state public health officer said: “Air quality regulations help us breathe cleaner air, producing health benefits across California and the United States and decreasing air pollution-related heart and lung disease. Additional climate change health impacts include increased injury and loss of life due to wildfires and severe storms, increased occurrences of vector-borne and water-borne diseases, and stress and mental trauma from loss of livelihoods, property loss and displacement. Climate change also disproportionately harms the mental health and well-being of children and youth, with heat, extreme weather, poor air quality, displacement, and other impacts leading to anxiety, depression, sleep troubles, post-traumatic stress disorder, impairment to cognitive development and function, decreases in learning, and other mental health challenges that can have long-term consequences.”
The Bay Area Air District released this statement saying:
“The Trump administration’s repeal of the EPA’s endangerment finding ignores decades of clear and mounting scientific evidence that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. This decision does not change the reality our communities are facing, from worsening wildfire smoke to more frequent extreme heat. Weakening federal protections increases risks for us all, especially those already overburdened by air pollution. That makes local action to protect clean air and public health more important than ever.”
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