On Feb. 12, President Donald Trump announced that he would eliminate Obama-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed the Endangerment Finding, which said that certain greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride—posed a threat to public health.
Under the Clean Air Act, these scientific findings gave the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and power plants, establishing emission standards that car manufacturers needed to adhere to. According to the EPA, the standards were developed with the goal of “improving public health through reducing smog- and soot-forming pollution from vehicles.”
After revoking this policy, the Trump administration claimed that it would save taxpayers 1.3 trillion dollars and would eliminate what it called “universally hated” off-cycle credits, emissions-saving technology in vehicles such as automatic stop-start features in cars.
The Trump administration also said that eliminating vehicle emissions controls will “restore consumer choice” by removing requirements that vehicle manufacturers develop and test cars that emit lower greenhouse gases. The EPA says that this will save American families over $2,400 per vehicle purchased.
“The Trump EPA is strictly following the letter of the law, returning common sense to policy, delivering consumer choice to Americans and advancing the American Dream,” said Administrator of the EPA, Lee Zeldin. “I am proud to deliver the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history on behalf of American taxpayers and consumers.”
In response to the new EPA policy, many environmental protection groups are raising concerns about how this will impact the environment and public health.
Katherine García, Director of Clean Transportation for All at the Sierra Club, said this decision will have harmful environmental effects for years to come.
“It is irresponsible and deadly for the administration to ignore the evidence of climate change and gut policies designed to curb climate emissions,” said García. “Science shows that urgently transitioning to electric vehicles is imperative to protect our health and our climate at the pace required. We won’t stop fighting to protect the integrity of the EPA against a pro-polluter administration that is hell-bent on destroying the agency.”
In Colorado, the EPA’s decision hinders the state’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Despite the state’s goals to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road and to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Colorado continues to face the implications of climate change: the state has seen record-low snow this winter.
“In a world where a significant portion of the people who live in Colorado live in an area that doesn’t meet federal ozone standards, rolling back vehicle pollutant standards makes no sense,” said Will Toor, Executive Director for the state Energy Office. “The fact that this weekend I was able to be walking in shorts in February gives a sense of the sorts of impact that we’re seeing.”
In a statement on the EPA’s decision, Governor Jared Polis said Colorado will continue working to protect the environment despite the EPA’s removal of emissions regulations.
“Rolling back long-standing protections creates uncertainty for consumers and businesses at a time when we should be investing in cleaner air, innovation and energy diversity. These investments aren’t just the right thing for our climate, it’s good business,” said Polis. “Clear, science-based standards give companies the certainty they need to invest and create jobs. Colorado will continue to stand behind science and protect the health and well-being of Coloradans.”
Environmental groups have started filing lawsuits against the EPA for rolling back the Endangerment Finding.