"In what the White House has described as the "largest deregulatory action in American history," President Donald Trump has undone a key scientific finding that has been the cornerstone of United States efforts to fight climate change for more than 16 years. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, the president officially rescinded a 2009 government declaration known as the endangerment finding. It has served as a key part of the green policies later introduced by former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. "This determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and no basis in law," Trump said at the White House on Thursday, calling it a "giant scam" that had "severely damaged the auto industry.""
"The landmark scientific finding, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in December 2009, was the legal framework that allowed the EPA to regulate planet-warming emissions seen as a threat to "public health and welfare of current and future generations." A previous ruling by the Supreme Court, the 2007 case known as Massachusetts v. EPA, gave the agency the authority to enact policies that targeted heat-trapping emissions carbon dioxide, methane and other pollutants. The policies first targeted car and truck exhaust, and later expanded to include emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants and the oil and gas industry."
President Donald Trump officially rescinded the EPA's 2009 endangerment finding, calling the determination baseless and a "giant scam" that damaged the auto industry. The endangerment finding established the legal framework for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases as threats to public health and welfare. The Supreme Court's 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision gave the agency authority to target heat-trapping emissions such as carbon dioxide and methane. Initial regulations targeted vehicle exhaust and later expanded to power plants and the oil and gas industry. The administration framed the rollback as a measure to lower vehicle costs and support increased fossil fuel activity.
Read at www.dw.com
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