Climate leaders are up in arms over the Trump administration's latest move to roll back environmental regulations, calling it a blatant act of corruption. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to repeal a crucial legal finding that forms the basis of all federal climate regulations, and climate advocates are not taking it lightly. 'This is corruption, plain and simple, old-fashioned, dirty political corruption,' said Sheldon Whitehouse, a senator from Rhode Island, at a rally outside the EPA headquarters. 'This agency has been infiltrated by the fossil fuel industry, turning it into a weapon for polluters.'
The 2009 endangerment finding, which established the legal framework for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, is set to be finalized by Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Thursday. The Trump administration has defended its decision, arguing that it will protect the environment while boosting the economy and lowering energy costs. They call it the 'largest deregulatory action in American history,' claiming it will save Americans $1.3 trillion. However, experts warn that this move could result in trillions of dollars in climate damages and healthcare costs.
Environmental nonprofits, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, and Sierra Club, have pledged to take legal action against the rollback. 'We're going to fight this in the courts and win,' said Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts and New York Congress member Paul Tonko also committed to highlighting the issue in their respective chambers.
This move comes after reports that Trump requested $1 billion from oil bosses during his campaign, promising to scrap environmental rules if elected. 'This is cash and carry: You give us the cash, and then we carry away all of the environmental protections,' Markey said. The plan to kill the endangerment finding is 'terrifying,' according to Talia Brandt, a 10-year-old Maryland resident and member of the environmental health organization Moms Clean Air Force. 'We shouldn't have to be here fighting for our future.'
The endangerment finding is based on a vast body of peer-reviewed research and has been repeatedly defended and upheld in federal courts. Since it was codified, the evidence showing that greenhouse gas emissions endanger society has only become stronger, according to Joseph Goffman, a former assistant administrator of EPA's office of air and radiation. 'Science did not change when Donald Trump was inaugurated,' he said. 'What changed was the new EPA management, determined to destroy the agency's public health and environmental mission.'
The upcoming repeal of the endangerment finding is part of Trump's 'drill, baby, drill' agenda to deregulate energy and boost fossil fuels. On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order directing the Department of Defense to procure more power from coal, the most polluting and planet-warming fossil fuel. 'Clean, beautiful coal is not only keeping the lights on in our country but also driving down the cost of electricity across the country,' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. On the same day, the president was awarded the inaugural 'Undisputed Champion of Coal' title by the Washington Coal Club for his efforts to roll back federal climate regulations.
The coal industry poured $3.5 million into efforts to elect Trump in 2024, and reports show that the president's efforts to keep aging coal plants open could push up already soaring energy bills nationwide. 'The billionaire class benefits from this rollback, while vulnerable people will be harmed the most,' said Manuel Salgado, federal research manager at the environmental justice nonprofit We Act for Environmental Justice. 'We will not let this continue to happen.'
