Trump Kills the Legal Foundation of U.S. Climate Regulation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revoking its scientific assessment that greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

"We are officially terminating the so-called endangerment finding," Trump said at the White House.

The Endangerment Finding is a scientific finding by the EPA dating back to the first term of Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, according to which greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare.

Following Trump's return to the White House, EPA head Lee Zeldin had announced last year that the finding was to be withdrawn.

In 2009, the EPA categorized six greenhouse gases as air pollution and a threat to human health on the basis of numerous scientific studies.

This allowed the agency to regulate emissions under the centralized Clean Air Act, which authorizes the EPA to regulate air pollutants and set quality standards.

The Endangerment Finding was therefore central to many environmental protection measures in the U.S.

Research shows greenhouse gases are the main driver of man-made climate change. Since the late 19th century, harmful emissions have led to a significant rise in the global average temperature, leading to more frequent and more severe extreme weather events globally such as floods, heatwaves and droughts.

To counteract this, emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases would have to be reduced quickly and significantly. In addition, large quantities of gases that have already been emitted would have to be removed from the atmosphere.

However, under Trump, a known climate change skeptic, the U.S. government has been rigorously cutting funding for climate action and research on global warming.

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