In 2009, the EPA issued an “endangerment finding” for greenhouse gases, which reflects the agency’s determination under the Clean Air Act (CAA) that this pollution  threatens public health and welfare.. The endangerment finding followed the Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA which found that greenhouse gases fall within the CAA’s definition of a pollutant. The Supreme Court’s opinion made it clear that the CAA authorizes the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and the agency’s subsequent issuance of the endangerment finding requires it to do just that.

Unfortunately, in February 2026, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding in one of its most destructive climate moves yet. The Trump administration’s abandonment of the endangerment finding came along with a move to eliminate climate pollution standards for motor vehicles, when transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

Why the Endangerment Finding is Important

The endangerment finding is the primary mechanism that the federal government relies on to regulate greenhouse gas pollution under the CAA. It laid the foundation for emissions standards that could rein in climate-harming pollution from sources like power plants and oil and gas facilities, in addition to motor vehicles. 

Repealing the endangerment finding takes a critical tool out of the government’s toolbox, at a time when bold climate action is more important than ever to protect communities and the environment. If allowed to stand, this massive Trump rollback  will leave us all more vulnerable to greenhouse gas pollution and its harmful impacts.. We won’t let that happen without a fight. On April 8, we joined Alaskan tribes and other environmental groups to sue the Trump administration in D.C. Circuit Court.

The Trump Administration Ignores Climate Pollution Harms

Public health experts have decried the rollback of the endangerment finding as a threat to people and communities. Without meaningful action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, we’ll see more frequent and powerful climate-driven disasters, like wildfires whose smoke harms our lungs and hearts. 

Hotter temperatures and heavier rains increase the risk and spread of bacteria like Salmonella and insect-borne diseases like malaria. Already, extreme temperatures kill thousands of Americans every year, and that number will only rise as climate change worsens.

The American Public Health Association released statements from nurses and physicians who spoke out about how this move will hurt the health of Americans at a time when climate change is already worsening conditions like asthma and other respiratory issues. 

On top of climate-related public health impacts, the rollback of the endangerment finding also threatens to worsen dangerous air pollution. The six greenhouse gases that the EPA can regulate under the finding include methane, which contributes to ozone pollution that damages our hearts and lungs. Another, nitrous oxides, contribute to ozone and particulate matter pollution. 

This Rollback is Dangerous and Unlawful

The Supreme Court has held that the EPA has the authority to regulate harmful greenhouse gas pollution, and the endangerment finding had a solid basis in law and science. The EPA’s arguments for revoking it don’t. And, like so many of Trump’s rollbacks, the process was flawed.

Furthermore, the Trump administration is diminishing the government’s ability to fight climate change and control the pollution that will lead to further warming and climate change-related catastrophes. This will especially impact overburdened communities that already face the brunt of air pollution and climate risks.

Repealing the endangerment finding flies in the face of long-settled science and is right out of the Project 2025 agenda. The Trump administration has been defined by attacks on science and commonsense regulation — attacks that put our health and environment at risk, from defunding climate research to pushing industry-backed, baseless nutrition recommendations.

Rescinding the endangerment finding, like so many of this administration’s policies, will cost lives.

The EPA Must Take on Climate Change

The Trump administration’s move to rescind the endangerment finding makes a mockery of the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. The agency’s attempt to ignore its fundamental objective and disavow its authority to protect people and the planet is simply wrong. The notion that the EPA shouldn’t act against climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions is akin to a fire department refusing to fight fires.

Food & Water Watch will not stand by while Trump’s EPA shirks its responsibility to protect people and the planet from harmful pollution. We fight for a livable climate, which means fighting the repeal of the endangerment finding in court.