"The Trump administration is framing its decision to repeal the landmark legal finding that's used for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions-for everything from automobiles to power plants-as the "largest deregulatory action in American history." And it is indeed a sizable policy shift-but the practical implications won't change much for the shorter-term operations of the energy and auto sectors, legal experts and industry analysts from across the ideological spectrum said."
""We don't have a bunch of fedora-wearing fat cats sitting around going, 'I can't wait until the endangerment finding gets repealed, so I can crank the CO₂ all the way up,'" said Eric Groten, senior partner for environmental and natural resources law at Vinson & Elkins, which represents energy clients. "The idea that suddenly we're going to have unregulated power is a false fear. We'll be unwinding very little that has already been put in place." Groton also said that the repeal would prevent "irrational overregulation" under Democrats."
"The EPA is issuing the rescission Feb. 12 to repeal its own scientific finding from the Obama administration that key greenhouse gas emissions-including carbon dioxide and methane-contribute to climate change and negative public health and welfare outcomes. The finding, which came after a narrow Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, has been used as the basis for most air and tailpipe emissions regulations ever since."
Repealing the 2009 endangerment finding removes the regulatory basis for many greenhouse gas rules covering vehicles and power plants. The action is portrayed as a major deregulatory move, but immediate operational effects on the energy and automotive industries should be limited because existing regulations largely remain in place and markets are shifting toward cleaner technologies. The repeal may modestly extend the lives of some coal plants and internal combustion vehicles, yet no new coal-fired plants are being built. The original finding followed a Supreme Court ruling that classified greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
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