Trump Rolls Back Landmark U.S. Climate Protection
President Donald Trump has announced the repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s landmark 2009 “endangerment finding,” calling the move the “single largest deregulatory action in American history.”
The 2009 determination concluded that greenhouse gases — including carbon dioxide from fossil fuels — endanger public health and welfare. It became the legal foundation for federal climate regulations, underpinning limits on vehicle tailpipe emissions, power plant rules, and other measures aimed at reducing US greenhouse gas output.
Speaking alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Trump said the reversal would eliminate more than $1.3 trillion in regulatory costs and lower vehicle prices, arguing that the original policy had harmed the auto industry and increased costs for consumers.
The White House described the decision as the largest deregulation effort in US history, framing it as part of a broader push for energy dominance and reduced federal oversight.
Environmental groups, however, say the repeal represents the most significant rollback of federal climate policy ever attempted. Former President Barack Obama said removing the endangerment finding would weaken public health protections and undermine efforts to address climate change.
If upheld, the move could fundamentally reshape the federal government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, setting the stage for a major legal and political battle over US climate policy.