US President Donald Trump has reversed a key Obama-era scientific ruling that underpins all federal actions on curbing planet-warming gases.
The so-called 2009 “endangerment finding” concluded that a range of greenhouse gases were a threat to public health. It’s become the legal bedrock of federal efforts to rein in emissions, especially in vehicles.
The White House called the reversal the “largest deregulation in American history”, saying it would make cars cheaper, bringing down costs for automakers by $2,400 per vehicle.
Environmental groups say the move is by far the most significant rollback on climate change yet attempted and are set to challenge it in the courts.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said the 2009 ruling was “a disastrous Obama era policy that severely damaged the American auto industry and massively drove up prices for American consumers”.
“This radical rule became the legal foundation for the Green New Scam, one of the greatest scams in history,” added the Republican president, about the Democrats’ climate agenda.
Former President Barack Obama, who infrequently comments on the policies of sitting presidents, said that repealing the finding would make 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 on X.
By Anthony Solly
