Trump Signs the Planet’s Death Warrant, Revoking EPA’s Ability to Regulate Greenhouse Gases
As of today, climate change denial is the official position of the United States government.
Photo via Unsplash, Documerica Splinter climate change
In what could go down as one of the most consequential declarations of the second Trump administration on a global level, President Donald Trump confirmed speculation today that the administration was repealing the government’s critical precedent to classify greenhouse gases as a danger to Americans’ health and welfare. By doing so, Trump will strip the Environmental Protection Pollution Agency of the legal basis it has used for the last 17 years to justify regulations on the emission of greenhouse gases, which are the primary drivers of modern climate change. The EPA would no longer be able to regulate the industrial production of gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which will have a direct and immediate effect on how much of those gases ultimately end up dispersed through the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to the ultimate warming of the planet. According to modeling from advocacy group the Environmental Defense Fund, the Trump administration’s appeal could result in up to 18 billion additional metric tons of emissions by the year 2055.
The key loss here is known as the “endangerment finding,” a fairly obscure term with enormous consequence and precedent riding on it. The endangerment finding was a 2009 scientific conclusion, adopted by the U.S. government, that greenhouse gas emissions pose a danger to the health and welfare of Americans through their direct effect on climate change, which has already transformed American life in numerous, tangible ways. When adopted by the first Barack Obama administration, the endangerment finding empowered the EPA to more vigorously begin regulation of these greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial and commercial sectors, under the Clean Air Act.
“This is as big as it gets,” crowed Trump from a podium addressing the media on Thursday, flanked by smiling EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, who cheerfully rejoiced as his own agency was stripped of the ability to, you know, protect the environment. “We are officially terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding,’ a disastrous Obama-era policy.” Trump would go on to say that the “radical rule” was “the basis for the Green New Scam,” while Zeldin described the move as “the single largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” Note, he said this as a positive, despite the fact that the entire purpose of his agency is to provide regulation that protects the environment. Never underestimate how happy a Trump crony will be to surrender their own power and responsibilities directly to the President and his corporate overlords.
Trump: “We are officially terminating the so-called ‘endangerment finding'”
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) Feb 12, 2026 at 1:41 PM
The Trump administration move is a massive victory for the anti-climate, pro-pollution and corporate greed lobby, which perpetually focuses on the profit margin of any given fiscal quarter rather than the impending disaster already being felt on our planet in an era of mass species extinctions and rapidly intensifying weather disasters. It will be a boon for pollution-heavy industries, as the EPA erases various Biden-era regulations that did everything from limit emissions from power plant smokestacks to automobile exhaust. Moreover, the repeal of the endangerment finding will make it more difficult for any future administration to reinstate prior climate rules and regulations.
One might wonder: What is the official administration line of justification for why the endangerment finding would be repealed? Well, it’s so much dumber than you’re likely imagining. On CNN’s State of the Union last year, Zeldin argued that the 2009 endangerment finding had relied on “the most pessimistic views of the science,” and that “the great news is that a lot of the pessimistic views of the science in 2009 that was being assumed ended up not panning out.”
Of course, the reason that the most dire of predictions hasn’t yet fully panned out is that the entire world has been working like mad to address the effects of climate change, with some limited success. Greenhouse gas emissions have actually been falling for years in the United States thanks to regulation, something that even the Trump admin’s pronouncement is unlikely to fully reverse. Rather, research firms like New York’s Rhodium Group estimate that the rate of emissions cuts will instead slow down as a result of the endangerment finding being repealed, when what the planet really needs is for the rate of emissions cuts to increase sharply, especially given the massive amounts of emissions still coming from the likes of China. The planet is still projected to warm by roughly 2.6 degrees Celsius by the end of century, with cataclysmic results on life and biodiversity. But Zeldin is arguing that we shouldn’t attempt to prevent this, because our efforts so far have been at least modestly successful. It’s the old “the very worst possible outcome hasn’t yet happened, so we shouldn’t bother trying to keep it from happening” routine.
The evidence of growing devastation from climate change is all around us, and hasn’t been in doubt for decades. The planet is being reshaped before our eyes, in too many ways to count. California’s fire season has completely changed due to changing weather systems, becoming costlier and deadlier. Once-in-a-century floods now occur with yearly frequency. Staple crops are becoming impossible to grow in the United States. Tropical bird populations in microclimates have been eradicated. You’re even more likely to die by mushroom poisoning now than ever before, thanks to the butterfly effect of climate change. And all the while, the Trump administration has been doing things like mandating closing coal plants continue operation, keeping them belching smoke even when the ownership is trying to shut them down. Despite that, the likes of Jeff Bezos’ now-sycophantic and undead Washington Post praised the move from their editorial page anyway, cheering on billionaires making a few more dollars as the world burns.
In case anyone’s wondering how Jeff Bezos feels about climate policy these days, the Washington Post editorial board just heartily endorsed Trump ripping up the EPA’s “endangerment finding,” which allows the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants.
— Sammy Roth (@sammyroth.bsky.social) Feb 11, 2026 at 1:01 PM
The administration is attempting to sell the idea of the endangerment finding repeal, meanwhile, as something between economic boon and gift to the American consumer. The government has claimed that auto manufacturers and other business would save an estimated $1 trillion, without explaining the time periods involved or how it came to that number. It has likewise claimed that the end of regulations will instantly result in more affordable cars for consumers, as if the auto manufacturers won’t just pocket any savings for themselves. None of that stopped Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt from promising to reporters on Tuesday that the administration would be giving Americans “average, per-vehicle savings of more than $2,400.” Take a wild guess as to whether the government provided any math to explain how it got to any of those estimations.
The Trump administration’s move is certain to be immediately challenged in court by Democratic governors and environmental activists. Indeed, it won’t be the first time–the ability of the EPA to regular climate pollution from greenhouse gases was already affirmed in 2007’s landmark Massachusetts v. EPA, and again in 2022. Time will tell if a Trump-dominated Supreme Court ultimately squirms its way into justification of speeding up the destruction of our fragile planet.
“If this reckless decision survives legal challenges, it will lead to more deadly wildfires, more extreme heat deaths, more climate-driven floods and droughts, and greater threats to communities nationwide,” said a statement from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
None of that is in doubt. Neither is the fact that our government doesn’t care if any of it comes to pass. Such is life, in an administration with a planetary death wish.
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