While Americans were busy going about their daily lives, the Environmental Protection Agency dropped a bombshell. The EPA proposed scrapping the 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases harm health and cause global warming. Just like that—fifteen years of climate policy potentially wiped away with the stroke of a pen.
The agency’s rationale? Updated science supposedly challenges the old assumptions. Yeah, right. They’re waving around a 2025 Climate Work Group study while promising $54 billion in annual savings from ditching greenhouse gas regulations. Talk about convenient timing.
EPA claims “new science” justifies gutting climate protections while dangling a $54 billion carrot. How wonderfully convenient.
More than 20 states aren’t buying it. California, New York, and others formed a coalition faster than you can say “climate crisis.” They argue the reversal violates the Clean Air Act and ignores scientific consensus recently reaffirmed by the National Academies. Not exactly a fringe position.
The states have receipts. Extreme heat killing vulnerable people. Wildfires torching communities. Rising seas swallowing coastlines. All while the EPA pretends these aren’t related to climate change. Resource extraction and processing currently contribute to half of emissions worldwide, making regulatory rollbacks particularly dangerous. The coalition filed legal comments and briefs urging the agency to drop this nonsense.
Meanwhile, the auto industry sits in limbo. The EPA’s move threatens to undo 15 years of vehicle emission standards that actually drove innovation and saved consumers money. Manufacturers invested billions adapting to cleaner standards. Now what? Kiss those factories, jobs, and competitive edge goodbye?
President Trump’s administration frames this as freedom from regulation. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called it “the biggest deregulation day in U.S. history,” claiming it will drive down living costs and “unleash American energy.” Freedom to pollute, more like it. This approach aligns with Trump’s broader agenda to prioritize fossil fuels through executive orders since returning to office.
The battle lines are drawn. Blue states defend climate science while red states embrace deregulation. According to the coalition’s economic analysis, repealing these standards could cost Americans roughly $1.82 trillion in climate-related damages over the long term. Average Americans? They’re caught in the middle of a climate policy tug-of-war that will shape our environment for generations. Some freedom.
References
- https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/mrcbg/programs/growthpolicy/trumps-epa-proposes-end-us-fight-against-climate-change
- https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/combatting-epa’s-ongoing-assault-climate-science-attorney-general-bonta-slams
- https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2025/09/city-of-new-york-takes-multiple-actions-supporting-challenges-to
- https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-proposal-rescind-obama-era-endangerment-finding-regulations-paved-way
- https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
- https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/09/national-academies-publish-new-report-reviewing-evidence-for-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-u-s-climate-health-and-welfare
