Trump ends US vehicle emission standards, revokes climate regulations

On Thursday, the administration of President Donald Trump announced that it had repealed a scientific conclusion that greenhouse gasses endanger human life and removed federal tailpipe emission standards for cars and trucks.

The administration has rolled back its climate change policies in the most dramatic way possible, following a series of regulatory changes and other actions designed to promote fossil fuels and to impede the development of "clean energy".

Trump stated that the EPA had just finished a process to 'terminate the endangerment findings, a policy from the Obama era which severely damaged the American automobile industry and drove up prices for American consumers.

In a press statement, the Environmental Protection Agency stated that the finding of endangerment was based on an incorrect interpretation federal clean air laws intended to protect Americans against pollutants which cause harm by local or regional exposure and not global warming.

It said that "this flawed legal theory took this agency outside of its statutory authorities in multiple ways." Trump announced the repeal alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and White House Budget Director Russ Vought. Vought has been a long-time advocate of reversing the findings and was a major architect of conservative policy plan Project 2025. Trump believes that climate change is a "con-job" and has pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement. This leaves the United States, the largest contributor to global warming in history, outside the international efforts to combat the issue. He has also signed legislation that eliminates tax credits from the Biden era aimed at increasing deployment of renewable energy and electric cars.

Barack Obama, the former president, blasted this move, saying that without an endangerment determination, "we will be less safe, healthier and less able fight climate change - all to allow the fossil fuel industry to?make more money".

"HOLY GRAIL"

Zeldin stated that the Trump administration adopted the most consequential climate policies of the past 15 years. This was something the agency avoided in his first term due to industry concerns about legal and regulatory uncertainties.

He said that the Obama EPA's 2009 endangerment findings, which some referred to as the "holy grail" of federal regulatory overreach are now gone.

The United States adopted the endangerment conclusion in 2009. This led the EPA, under the Clean Air Act of 1963, to take actions to reduce emissions of methane and carbon dioxide from power plants, vehicles and other industries.

The Clean Air Act was passed after the Supreme court ruled in Massachusetts vs. EPA in 2007.

The repeal of the law would eliminate the requirement to report, certify and measure greenhouse gas emissions from cars. However, it may not apply at first to stationary sources, such as power plants.

According to EPA data, the transportation and power industries are responsible for a quarter each of U.S. emissions.

The EPA stated that the end of vehicle emissions standards would save U.S. tax payers $1.3 trillion. However, the previous administration claimed the rules were beneficial to consumers due to lower fuel prices and other savings.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (represented by major automakers) did not support the action, but stated that "automotive emission regulations finalized under the previous administration will be extremely difficult for automakers to achieve, given the current market demand for EVs."

Environmental Defense Fund stated that repealing climate regulations will cost Americans more despite EPA’s claim that consumers have been charged higher costs.

Fred Krupp, President of EDF, said that "Administrator Lee Zeldin directed EPA not to protect the American people against pollution which is causing more severe storms and floods as well as skyrocketing insurance rates." This action will only increase pollution and lead to higher costs for American families and real harm. The EPA under former president Joe Biden aimed to reduce passenger vehicle tailpipe emissions by almost 50% by 2032 compared to projected levels for 2027. It also forecast that between 35% to 56% of all new vehicles sold from 2030 to 2032 will need to be electrical.

The agency estimated that the rules will result in net savings of $99 billion per year through 2055. This includes $46 billion for fuel and $16 billion for maintenance and repairs.

Fuel and maintenance savings are expected to average $6,000 for new vehicle owners.

The coal industry welcomed the announcement made on Thursday, saying that it would prevent the retirement of older coal-fired plants.

Utilities announced plans to retire over 55,000 megawatts coal-fired power generation in the next five year. "Reversing these decisions would help offset the need for new, more expensive sources of electricity and prevent the loss reliability attributes such as fuel security that the coal fleet offers," said America's Power CEO Michelle Bloodworth.

UNCERTAINTY UNBOUND

Many industry groups support a repeal of strict vehicle emission standards. However, some have been reluctant to publicly show their support because of the uncertainty that could be created by rescinding an endangerment ruling. Legal experts say that the policy reversal may, for example, result in a surge of lawsuits known informally as "public nuisance actions", a path that was blocked by a Supreme Court decision in 2011 that GHG regulation be left to the Environmental Protection Agency and not the courts.

Robert Percival is a University of Maryland professor of environmental law. He said, "This could be another case of overreach on the part of the Trump administration that comes back to bite them."

Environmental groups have condemned the?proposed removal as a threat to the climate. Future U.S. governments seeking to regulate greenhouse gases emissions would likely need to?reinstate the endangerment findings, a politically and legally complicated task.

Environmental groups, however, are confident that courts will continue to support the EPA in its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions using the Clean Air Act.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice and other environmental groups have announced that they will contest the reversed decision in court. This could lead to a long legal battle, possibly lasting years, up until the Supreme Court.

"There will be a lawsuit filed almost immediately and we'll find out in court." David Doniger is a senior attorney with the NRDC. "We will win", he said. (Reporting and writing by Valerie Volcovici, David Shepardson and Richard Valdmanis. Editing and proofreading by Chizu Nomiyama Alistair Bell Stephen Coates

(source: Reuters)