US President Donald Trump framed his sweeping rollback of federal climate change policy on Thursday as a political win over the Democratic Party's 'radical' environmental agenda, reprising a message Republicans have used in past elections and could turn to once again ahead of November's crucial midterms. His announcement at the White House was one of the most significant moves of his second term in office. The president said he was revoking an Obama-era 'endangerment finding' from 2009 which held that pollution harms public health and the environment.
For almost 17 years, the US has used that scientific finding as the legal basis to establish policies to reduce emissions from cars, power plants, and other sources of planet-warming gases. 'This radical rule became the legal foundation for the Green New Scam,' Trump said, using a term popular with Republicans for describing Democratic environmental and climate policies. The move marks the culmination of a decade-long push by Trump to tear up policies that Democrats and many climate experts say are needed to rein in emissions. It is one of the most far-reaching reversals of American climate policy yet.
Trump, who has called climate change a 'hoax' and a 'con job', dismissed the science underpinning the Obama-era rule in remarks that took on the air of a victory lap over his Democratic opponents. He focused on the economic impacts of reversing the endangerment finding, arguing that boosting fossil fuels instead of clean energy would lead to lower energy costs for American consumers. Additionally, he mentioned the US auto industry as a major beneficiary of the change.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, made the announcement alongside the president and described the 2009 scientific ruling as the 'holy grail of climate change religion'. Both men framed its revocation as an assault on overbearing federal regulations - part of a longtime message from Republicans that bureaucratic red tape is hindering economic growth.
This decision is hailed by Trump as 'the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States of America.' However, it has sparked fury among Democrats and environmental groups who assert it compromises the US's ability to fight climate change. Former President Barack Obama expressed concerns, stating, 'We'll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change - all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.' With opinions on climate change shifting among the populace, Trump's strategy may face challenges as the nation grapples with growing worries over global warming.
For almost 17 years, the US has used that scientific finding as the legal basis to establish policies to reduce emissions from cars, power plants, and other sources of planet-warming gases. 'This radical rule became the legal foundation for the Green New Scam,' Trump said, using a term popular with Republicans for describing Democratic environmental and climate policies. The move marks the culmination of a decade-long push by Trump to tear up policies that Democrats and many climate experts say are needed to rein in emissions. It is one of the most far-reaching reversals of American climate policy yet.
Trump, who has called climate change a 'hoax' and a 'con job', dismissed the science underpinning the Obama-era rule in remarks that took on the air of a victory lap over his Democratic opponents. He focused on the economic impacts of reversing the endangerment finding, arguing that boosting fossil fuels instead of clean energy would lead to lower energy costs for American consumers. Additionally, he mentioned the US auto industry as a major beneficiary of the change.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, made the announcement alongside the president and described the 2009 scientific ruling as the 'holy grail of climate change religion'. Both men framed its revocation as an assault on overbearing federal regulations - part of a longtime message from Republicans that bureaucratic red tape is hindering economic growth.
This decision is hailed by Trump as 'the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States of America.' However, it has sparked fury among Democrats and environmental groups who assert it compromises the US's ability to fight climate change. Former President Barack Obama expressed concerns, stating, 'We'll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change - all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.' With opinions on climate change shifting among the populace, Trump's strategy may face challenges as the nation grapples with growing worries over global warming.
