Christopher Schuler, christopher.schuler@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC – Today, the EPA announced that it will begin the formal process of reconsidering the 2009 Endangerment Finding, effectively stripping itself of its primary authority to regulate climate pollution under the federal Clean Air Act. The agency also announced it will reconsider all prior regulations and actions that rely on the Endangerment Finding, an effort that will further jeopardize public health and wellness.
The 2009 finding—based on the overwhelming scientific evidence that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases endanger our health, our communities, and our economy—gives EPA the authority to regulate these heat-trapping gases emitted from sources like power plants, motor vehicles, and oil and gas extraction. It was adopted following a rigorous rulemaking process considering thousands of public comments and decades of scientific evidence, and has been upheld by the federal courts.
In the decade and a half since EPA released the endangerment finding, the evidence has continued to amass regarding both the severity of the climate crisis and the direct role that greenhouse gas emissions play in driving that crisis. Beyond the finding’s factual basis, as a purely legal matter, experts say that revoking or weakening the endangerment finding would be blatantly and directly at odds with the Supreme Court's decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which held that the Clean Air Act grants the agency the authority to control greenhouse gas pollution. Revoking this authority could also open the floodgates to litigation in state court against utilities and other high-emitting industries, a far more chaotic and costly process than simply allowing EPA to do its job under the Clean Air Act.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement:
“As the climate crisis is ripping through communities across the country—costing hundreds of lives and billions in damages—Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin are lying, claiming climate change isn't dangerous. They're making climate denial the official position of the United States government, at the expense of our health and safety and the possibility of a livable planet for future generations. The Sierra Club has said that we can and would pursue every legal avenue available to us to stop these efforts to harm the public and endanger people’s health, and that is exactly the fight we will bring—on behalf of our millions of members and supporters and all Americans who just want a chance to live healthy lives.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.