The Trump administration has announced a major reversal in U.S. climate policy and has removed a long-standing scientific finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to human health. The decision now eliminates federal vehicle emission standards for cars and trucks and this is one of the most significant climate policy rollbacks in recent U.S. history.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that the so called “endangerment finding” were first introduced in 2009 under Barack Obama’s presidency and it is now being officially repealed. There is a new change and federal limits on vehicle tailpipe emissions are also removed now. During the Biden administration the EPA hadf planned to cut emissions from passenger vehicles to nearly half by 2032 with a major push for electric vehicles but these plans are now expected to be delayed.
Environmental groups have strongly criticized the decision. Fred Krupp who is the president of the Environmental Defense Fund has said removing the rules will lead to more pollution and worse storms, and higher costs for families. Several organizations which includes the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice stated that they plan to challenge the decision in court while the Legal experts have also warned that the move could trigger a long series of lawsuits.
The people who Support the change such as many leaders in the coal and fossil fuel industries have welcomed the announcement. They also argued that it will protect jobs help prevent the closure of aging coal-fired power plants and reduce costs for energy producers at the same time. Michelle Bloodworth who is the president of America’s Power has stated the rollback could help maintain electricity reliability and prevent the need for building more expensive power plants.
Experts have also warned that while such moves do reduces regulations at the same time it creates uncertainty and the previous Supreme Court rulings have provided EPA with authority to regulate greenhouse gases and taking that back could lead to legal battles.
The administration has stated that the step is necessary in order to support industry and also reduce the costs while critics argue that it will have long-term consequences for the environment and public health while the coming months are crucial and will likely show how this policy change affects U.S. climate efforts and international relations.
Source: Reuters