Trump administration undermines EPA enforcement of Clean Air Act | TechCrunch

"After months of telegraphing the move, the Trump administration today officially repealed the EPA's 2009 " endangerment finding," which found that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane were a threat to human health and welfare. The finding had so far supported the agency's regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Currently, the new rule only applies to car and truck tailpipe emissions, but it's expected to be the first of several similar changes to federal air pollution regulations."

"Before the endangerment finding can be fully repealed, though, the EPA must go through a lengthy process. The original finding took two years to put in place. The move by Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, will slow the decline in emissions by about 10%, according to Axios. That's a significant amount, but not enough to reverse the trend, partly because cheap renewables have dominated new electricity generation capacity in recent years."

The EPA officially repealed its 2009 endangerment finding that classified greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane as threats to human health and welfare. The finding had underpinned regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act, and the new rule currently targets car and truck tailpipe emissions but is expected to be the first of multiple regulatory changes. Full repeal requires a lengthy administrative process; the original finding took two years to establish. The rollback is projected to slow the decline in U.S. emissions by about 10%, and experts warn of increased pollution and economic and health harms. Unabated climate change is projected to raise U.S. mortality and significantly reduce global GDP by midcentury.

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