‘Reckless decision’: Experts, lawmakers decry Trump administration’s rollback on landmark climate filing

Announcing the decision at the White House, Trump described the ruling as “a disastrous Obama-era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and massively drove up prices for American consumers”.

Environmental groups have condemned the rollback and are preparing legal challenges.

What was the 2009 ‘endangerment finding’?

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that six key greenhouse gases endangered public health and welfare. That finding became the legal foundation for regulating emissions from cars, power plants, oil and gas facilities, landfills and even aircraft.

As the BBC reports, with Congress divided on climate legislation at the time, the ruling became central to federal climate action.

“The endangerment finding has really served as the lynchpin of US regulation of greenhouse gases,” Meghan Greenfield, a former EPA and Department of Justice attorney, told the BBC.

Why Trump says he reversed it

The White House called the move “the largest deregulation in American history”. Officials argue that scrapping the finding will cut regulatory burdens and reduce costs.

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the reversal would lower manufacturing costs by about $2,400 per vehicle.

Trump criticised what he called the Democrats’ climate agenda, saying the rule became “the legal foundation for the Green New Scam, one of the greatest scams in history”.

The administration also claims the change could save more than $1tn and reduce energy and transport costs.

Opposition and warnings

Former President Barack Obama responded on X, warning that repealing the rule would leave Americans more vulnerable.

“Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money,” he wrote.

Environmental groups dispute the projected savings. Peter Zalzal of the Environmental Defense Fund told the BBC that weaker vehicle standards would increase fuel consumption, potentially costing Americans around $1.4tn in additional fuel spending.

He also cited health concerns, saying the move could result in “up to 58,000 additional premature deaths” and millions more asthma attacks.

Legal experts expect the decision to face swift court challenges. Greenfield said the original finding had blocked numerous climate-related lawsuits by placing regulatory authority at the federal level. Reversing it could open the door to fresh cases from states and non-profit organisations.

Some analysts believe the Trump administration wants the issue tested before the US Supreme Court in hopes of securing a definitive ruling that would prevent future administrations from reinstating the finding without new legislation.

“This is really different as the EPA is exiting the space entirely and wants to do it on a permanent basis,” Greenfield told the BBC.

Questions over climate science

The reversal is also likely to reignite debate over climate science. The US Department of Energy recently convened a panel to produce a report challenging widely accepted conclusions about the warming impact of greenhouse gases. Critics say the panel was unrepresentative and included climate sceptics.

A federal judge has since ruled that the department violated the law in forming the panel.

Experts say the rollback could create uncertainty for US carmakers, especially in overseas markets where emissions standards remain stricter.

Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert at Columbia University, told the BBC that while the administration has already relaxed fuel economy standards, this decision goes further.

“It really does put the US automakers in a bind, because nobody else is going to want to buy American cars,” he said.

The decision marks one of the most significant reversals of US climate policy to date and sets up a major legal and political battle over the country’s approach to tackling global warming.