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Trump Officials Dismantle Climate Protections, Consider Scrapping Greenhouse Gas Regulations

In a sweeping assault on environmental policies, Donald Trump’s administration has launched a series of rollbacks targeting nearly every major climate and pollution regulation in the U.S. The most controversial move involves reconsidering the 2009 “endangerment finding”, which legally defines greenhouse gases as a threat to public health—a decision that serves as the backbone of U.S. climate law.

If overturned, this decision would gut the legal foundation for regulating carbon emissions, effectively dismantling federal efforts to combat climate change. Environmentalists and legal experts have condemned the move, warning that it could trigger the most significant environmental rollback in modern U.S. history.

A "Dagger Through the Heart" of Climate Action

Lee Zeldin, Trump's EPA administrator, justified the move by claiming climate regulations have harmed industries and consumers, calling Wednesday's actions the "most consequential day of deregulation in American history."

"We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America's Golden Age," Zeldin declared.

His agency also announced 31 additional rollbacks within just a few hours, unraveling regulations designed to protect air, water, and the climate. These include:

  • Eliminating limits on pollution from coal-fired power plants
  • Weakening fuel efficiency and emissions standards for cars and trucks
  • Loosening restrictions on toxic waste dumping into waterways
  • Scaling back protections under the Clean Water Act
  • Revisiting regulations on sooty air pollution linked to lung and heart disease

Environmentalists and former government officials reacted with outrage, calling the moves dangerous and legally questionable.

"The Trump administration's ignorance is trumped only by its malice toward the planet," said Jason Rylander from the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute.

A Threat to Public Health and the Planet

Scientists and environmental advocates warn that weakening climate protections will have deadly consequences.

"Zeldin's EPA is dragging America back to the days before the Clean Air Act, when people were dying from pollution," said Dominique Browning, director of Moms Clean Air Force.

The endangerment finding, established in 2009 under the Obama administration, legally compels the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. It was based on overwhelming scientific evidence linking emissions to climate disasters, economic damage, and public health risks. Revoking it could strip away the EPA's authority to regulate carbon emissions, essentially gutting federal climate policy.

Political and Legal Battles Ahead

The EPA's decision to dismantle environmental protections comes alongside mass firings within the agency, including the closure of offices dedicated to environmental justice. The administration has also halted $20 billion in climate crisis grants, citing concerns about fraud. Democratic lawmakers have questioned the legality of these moves and are expected to mount legal challenges.

"Rolling these rules back is not just a disgrace, it's a threat to all of us," said Gina McCarthy, former EPA administrator under Obama.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is preparing for further deregulation, with officials signaling an aggressive push to eliminate environmental protections in favor of fossil fuel expansion. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced at a Houston oil and gas conference that the administration is seeking to cut 20-30% of all regulations, further solidifying its pro-industry stance.

As legal challenges loom, environmental advocates are vowing to fight every rollback in court, setting the stage for one of the most intense battles over U.S. environmental policy in decades.