The Trump administration is set to revoke a landmark Obama-era scientific determination that has served as the legal foundation for nearly all US federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
The Trump administration defended the move as saving Americans $1.3 trillion by scrapping burdensome regulations.
Most of the savings will come from lower costs on new vehicles, with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates showing an average savings of more than $2,400 per car, SUV or truck by eliminating expensive greenhouse gas emissions standards that drive up manufacturing and compliance expenses.
The 2009 "endangerment finding" is a major EPA decision from Obama’s first term.
The EPA determined that six main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endanger public health and welfare.
The finding classified the gases as a form of air pollution under the Clean Air Act.
As a result, it gave the EPA the legal authority to regulate and limit emissions from major sources like cars, trucks, power plants, oil and gas operations, and other big contributors to global warming.
But Trump administration officials believe the regulations impose significant added costs on automakers, which are passed on to consumers.
Environmental groups have vowed immediate court challenges, calling the move a direct assault on public health and science-based regulation.
The broader Trump climate rollback agenda also includes re-withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, directing agencies to exit or ignore Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) processes, and accelerating fossil fuel production while slashing green energy subsidies.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will hold a White House ceremony to officially rescind the 2009 finding, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed.
By Selcuk Uysal
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
