EPA's Retreat on Climate Policies Imperils Our Online Platform's Future
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) latest proposal, issued on Tuesday, July 29, seeks to overturn a core climate protection measure known as the endangerment finding. This proposal, if approved, would have significant implications for public health, outdoor places, and the communities that rely on them.
The endangerment finding, finalized in 2009 after a rigorous, years-long review process involving thousands of scientists, public health experts, and millions of public comments, is a science-based EPA determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. This finding acts as the legal foundation for U.S. federal climate policies targeting greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, enabling the EPA to set emissions standards that help mitigate climate change's adverse health effects.
The significance of the Endangerment Finding lies in its dual role. Scientifically, it legally recognizes that GHG emissions threaten public health and welfare. Legally, it provides the EPA the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate these emissions, particularly from new motor vehicles and engines. Without this finding, the EPA does not have the statutory authority to regulate GHG emissions under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.
The EPA's proposal to revoke the endangerment finding would strip the agency of its legal and scientific foundation to regulate GHG emissions. This move would dismantle the basis for all greenhouse gas standards, rolling back all vehicle greenhouse gas standards, which would have cut emissions by 44-60% by 2032. The proposal, if approved, would unravel decades of environmental progress and put clean air, public health, and outdoor places at risk.
The American Mountaineering Center (AMC) is working to oppose harmful policies that jeopardize the health of the outdoors, including the EPA's proposal to revoke the endangerment finding. AMC believes that greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act must continue to tackle climate change. The organization is urging decision-makers to take essential climate action.
Mandy Warner, Senior Director of Policy at AMC, has stated that raising our voice about the urgency of addressing climate change is important. To stay up to date on how to make a difference advocating for conservation and recreation, subscribe to AMC's Conservation Action Network.
The EPA's proposal is a direct threat to the places we love and the communities who rely on them. It increases the risk of climate change impacts in the decades to come. AMC is calling the EPA's proposal a direct threat to the places they love and the communities who rely on them.
Sources:
[1] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2009). Endangerment finding for greenhouse gases and implications for motor vehicle emissions standards. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/endangerment-finding-greenhouse-gases-and-implications-motor-vehicle-emissions-standards
[2] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021). Proposed rule: Revocation of the determination that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/proposed-rule-revocation-determination-greenhouse-gas-emissions-endanger-public-health-and
[3] U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2019). Greenhouse gas emissions: EPA's regulatory approach to reducing motor vehicle emissions. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-19-287
[4] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2016). Clean Power Plan: Overview. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-overview
- The Endangerment Finding, a scientific and legal cornerstone for U.S. federal climate policies, recognizes the threat of greenhouse gases to public health and welfare, and provides the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate these emissions.
- The EPA's latest proposal to revoke the Endangerment Finding could have significant implications for environmental science, policy-and-legislation, and politics, as it would dismantle the foundation for all greenhouse gas standards and put clean air, public health, and outdoor places at risk.
- The American Mountaineering Center (AMC), an organization advocating for conservation and recreation, is urging decision-makers to take essential climate action in opposition to harmful policies like the EPA's proposal to revoke the Endangerment Finding, which is a direct threat to the places we love and the communities who rely on them.
