Obama’s Response to Trump’s Repeal of Climate Regulation

Former President Barack Obama reacted after the Trump administration made the decision to repeal a significant climate change regulation known as endangerment testing.

The endangerment findings, established in 2009, allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to classify greenhouse gases as harmful pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Recently, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the government would officially withdraw these findings, effectively overturning the EPA’s capacity to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This move could have extensive implications for consumer choice.

Obama remarked, “Today, the Trump Administration withdrew the endangered status certification that supported tailpipe emission limits and power plant rules.” He shared his thoughts on social media shortly after the announcement, stating, “Without it, we will be less safe, our health will be worse, and our ability to fight climate change will be diminished, all to make the fossil fuel industry even more profitable.”

Trump claimed the repeal was a major deregulatory step, referring to the findings as enacted under “Barack Hussein and Obama.” Zeldin underscored that this finding overstepped Congressional authority, suggesting that the American people bore the burden of the stringent regulations it imposed.

“The EPA has now determined that even if the United States were to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions from all vehicles, there would be no substantial impact on global climate indicators through 2100,” Zeldin announced. “Therefore, it’s unnecessary for the EPA to uphold GHG emissions standards to carry out its primary mission of safeguarding human health and the environment. Today’s action pertains specifically to GHG emissions and does not alter standards for other pollutants or regulations aimed at combating air toxicity.”