The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases on Tuesday. Because this finding gives the EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles, rescinding it would also mean repealing all regulations governing GHG emissions from highway vehicles.
The 2009 finding determined that six GHGs, including carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons, “threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.” It also found “that the combined emissions of these well-mixed greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the greenhouse gas pollution that threatens public health and welfare.”
The finding was the basis for a rule change under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. The rule says, in part, that elevated concentrations of GHGs “and associated climate change affect public health by evaluating the risks associated with changes in air quality, increases in temperatures, changes in extreme weather events, increases in food- and water-borne pathogens…” As such, the EPA asserted the legal authority to set emissions standards for GHGs from highway vehicles.
When announcing the proposed rule change, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said: “With regard to the endangerment finding, they’ll say carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that’s the end of it. They’ll never acknowledge any type of benefit or need for carbon dioxide. It’s important to note, and they don’t, how important it is for the planet.” The EPA also said that, if approved, the rule change would eliminate $1 trillion in regulations that cost over $54 billion annually.
The US Department of Energy released a new report on GHGs at the same time as the EPA announcement. The report, entitled “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the US Climate,” says that “CO2-induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed, and excessively aggressive mitigation policies could prove more detrimental than beneficial.”
The announcement of the proposed rule change starts the public comment procedure. The public can register comments by visiting regulations.gov and clicking the “Comment” box under the proposed rule document. The EPA will accept public comments through September 15.
