The US has abolished emissions standards for cars and key environmental regulations
13 February 15:30
The administration of President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of the scientific conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to human health and has repealed federal exhaust emission standards for cars and trucks, Reuters reports, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“In accordance with the process just completed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we are officially ending the so-called threat conclusion, a disastrous Obama-era policy that seriously harmed the American auto industry and led to higher prices for American consumers,” Trump said, calling it the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.
The Environmental Protection Agency said in a press release that the threat conclusion was based on a misinterpretation of federal clean air laws designed to protect Americans from pollutants that cause harm through local or regional effects, not through global warming.
It is noted that this decision will reduce regulatory costs by more than $1.3 trillion and contribute to a sharp drop in car prices.
This is the most significant reversal of climate change policy by the administration to date, following a series of regulatory rollbacks and other steps aimed at easing restrictions on fossil fuel development and slowing the adoption of clean energy.
This deprives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the ability to control carbon dioxide and methane emissions, which previously allowed it to regulate the activities of industrial enterprises.
This decision has sparked outrage among environmental organizations and political opponents, including former President Barack Obama, who has warned of the threat to Americans in the battle against climate change.
“Without a threat determination, we will be less safe, less healthy, and less able to fight climate change — all so that the fossil fuel industry can make even more money,” Obama wrote.
The threat determination was first adopted by the United States in 2009 and prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action under the Clean Air Act of 1963 to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and four other heat-trapping air pollutants from vehicles, power plants, and other industries.
Its repeal would remove regulatory requirements for measuring, reporting, certifying, and complying with federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles, but may not initially apply to stationary sources such as power plants.
According to the EPA, the transportation and energy sectors account for about a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that repealing and terminating vehicle emission standards would save US taxpayers $1.3 trillion, while the previous administration claimed that these rules would have a net benefit for consumers through lower fuel costs and other savings.
The Environmental Defense Fund said the repeal would ultimately cost Americans more, despite the EPA’s claim that climate regulations had led to increased costs for consumers.
Environmental groups criticized the proposed repeal, calling it a threat to the climate. Future US administrations seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will likely have to reestablish recognition of the threat, which could be a politically and legally difficult task.
Environmentalists are confident that the courts will continue their history of supporting the EPA’s authority to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice, have said they will challenge the repeal in court, which could lead to years of litigation all the way to the Supreme Court.
