EPA unveils plans to revoke Obama-era climate endangerment finding

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin unveiled plans Tuesday to scrap the Obama-era endangerment finding declaration, which serves as the legal foundation for a host of climate regulations stemming from the Clean Air Act.

That law limits air pollutant emissions from sources including chemical plants, utilities, and steel mills. 

As a result, Zeldin’s proposal would rescind the 2009 endangerment finding, which asserts that greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide and methane threaten public health. 

Zeldin first announced plans to undo the regulation during an interview with the “Ruthless” podcast that aired on Tuesday, where he characterized the move as one that will drive “a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion.” 

Additionally, Zeldin said the proposed change would save Americans over $1 trillion. 

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“A lot of people are out there listening, they might not know what the endangerment finding is. If you ask congressional Democrats to describe what it is, the left would say that it means that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, carbon dioxide is an endangerment to human health. They might say methane is a pollutant, methane is an endangerment to human health,” Zeldin said on the “Ruthless” podcast. 

“That’s an oversimplified, I would say inaccurate, way to describe it,” Zeldin said. “The Obama administration said that carbon dioxide, when mixed with a bunch of other well-mixed gasses, greenhouse gasses, that it contributes to climate change. How much? They don’t say… They say that climate change endangers human health, so because of these different mental leaps… then there were all sorts of vehicle regulations that followed.” 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.