The Environmental Protection Agency has initiated a formal review of the s-called Endangerment Finding from 2009 that made the basis for climate change-related legislation. If the finding is dropped, this could have significant implications for future policies.
“The Trump Administration will not sacrifice national prosperity, energy security, and the freedom of our people for an agenda that throttles our industries, our mobility, and our consumer choice while benefiting adversaries overseas,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said. “We will follow the science, the law, and common sense wherever it leads, and we will do so while advancing our commitment towards helping to deliver cleaner, healthier, and safer air, land, and water.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright slammed the legislation as entirely negative. “The 2009 Endangerment finding has had an enormously negative impact on the lives of the American people,” he said in comments on the news.
“For more than 15 years, the U.S. government used the finding to pursue an onslaught of costly regulations – raising prices and reducing reliability and choice on everything from vehicles to electricity and more. It’s past time the United States ensures the basis for issuing environmental regulations follows the science and betters human lives.”
The Endangerment Finding stated that carbon dioxide, methane, and four other gases were a threat to public health. Numerous scientists have challenged what effectively amounts to calling CO2 a pollutant, noting that it is the greenhouse effect of this gas that has made the planet inhabitable.
The EPA will have 30 days to complete the review and submit recommendations on whether it would be a good idea to keep the Endangerment Finding or dismiss it. According to Bloomberg, the dismissal of the Endangerment Finding could lead to policy revisions regarding emissions from power plants, cars, and oil wells.
While it may seem certain that the EPA will dismiss the finding, this end result is far from certain, Bloomberg notes in its report on the review. The publication cited a 2007 Supreme Court decision upholding the EPA’s authority in regulating CO2 as it regulates pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
