Deregulatory Chaos: Trump Repeals Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards, Igniting Nationwide Backlash

The Trump administration announced on Thursday its repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding, a key scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and Earth.Org reports. This move, hailed by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as the single largest deregulatory action in United States history, eliminates federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles and engines from model years 2012 through 2027 and beyond. Zeldin stated it saves American taxpayers over 1.3 trillion dollars by removing regulations tied to what he called the Holy Grail of the climate change religion, including mandates pushing electric vehicles that raised costs for families and businesses. The EPA argued that even if the United States eliminated all vehicle emissions, it would have no material impact on global climate through 2100, and that the Clean Air Act lacks authority for such standards.

Environmental groups, scientists, and dozens of politicians swiftly condemned the repeal as unlawful, warning it risks lives by shifting pollution costs to families and communities, with threats of legal challenges emerging nationwide. Earth.Org highlighted reactions pouring in from across the United States, underscoring a deepening policy divide.

In response, states are stepping up. California Governor Gavin Newsom, at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, reinforced climate partnerships, co-chairing the bipartisan United States Climate Alliance of 24 governors and America Is All In coalition, while signing wildfire prevention deals with Brazil's Pará state. California has surged battery storage to nearly 17,000 megawatts, a 2,100 percent increase, adding over 30,000 megawatts to its grid toward 100 percent clean electricity by 2045, per the governor's office.

Washington state faces pressure to intensify efforts as federal support wanes, with Oregon Public Broadcasting noting the EPA's action erases tools to combat vehicle pollution amid rising local climate threats.

Globally, January 2026 marked the fifth warmest on record at 12.95 degrees Celsius, 1.47 degrees above pre-industrial levels, per Earth.Org, blending Europe's coldest January since 2010 and North America's chills to minus 43 degrees Fahrenheit with scorching Southern Hemisphere heat fueling deadly wildfires in Chile and Argentina's Patagonia. A World Weather Attribution study linked those blazes, which destroyed thousands of homes amid drought, 38-degree Celsius heat, and 40 to 50 kilometer per hour winds, directly to climate change, revealing patterns of amplified extremes. Heavy rains triggered floods and landslides in southeastern Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, Europe, and Mozambique, claiming dozens of lives and signaling erratic weather shifts.

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