Revoking EPA's endangerment finding complicates US climate policy

The Trump administration plans to reconsider the endangerment finding, a critical part of U.S. climate policies. This finding, established in 2009, concludes that greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 12, 2025, that the administration seeks to revoke this finding and related climate regulations. Revoking the endangerment finding won't be easy and may unintentionally harm industries it aims to support. The EPA must first appoint new members to its Science Advisory Board, as previous members were dismissed. These new members will provide scientific advice on the issue. Zeldin will then need to initiate a lengthy rulemaking process, allowing for public comment and scrutiny. If Zeldin succeeds in revoking it, lawsuits are likely to follow. Even successful revocation won't eliminate existing rules that depend on the finding; those rules would require separate processes. The administration's argument against the finding, based on costs, has previously been rejected by courts. Moreover, repealing the endangerment finding could lead to increased lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry by states and cities. Currently, the industry argues these cases are barred by federal law. A repeal could weaken this defense, exposing companies to more legal challenges. Also, the conservative Supreme Court may not support Zeldin's reinterpretation of laws. The court has recently made decisions that limit agency powers to change regulations without significant evidence. The path ahead for the Trump administration is complex and fraught with potential legal challenges.