OPINION:
For more than a decade, the Obama administration’s 2009 “endangerment finding” has been a weapon in the left’s arsenal to reshape the U.S. economy under the guise of saving the planet.
By labeling carbon dioxide — a natural, life-sustaining gas — as a dangerous pollutant, the Environmental Protection Agency unleashed a wave of regulations that have shackled our auto industry, crippled our energy sector and burdened everyday Americans with higher costs. Now, under President Trump’s bold leadership and Administrator Lee Zeldin’s clear-eyed vision, the EPA is taking a historic stand to reverse this flawed policy.
On Tuesday, the EPA chief announced his intention to dismantle the endangerment finding and restore commonsense, science-driven governance that puts America first. “We heard loud and clear the concern that EPA’s GHG emissions standards themselves, not carbon dioxide, which the finding never assessed independently, was the real threat to Americans’ livelihoods,” Mr. Zeldin said. “If finalized, rescinding the endangerment finding and resulting regulations would end $1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families.”
The 2009 finding claimed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health by driving catastrophic climate change. In truth, this wasn’t about protecting the environment; it was a blatant power grab by bureaucrats, environmental zealots and liberal politicians working in concert with globalist outfits such as the World Economic Forum and the United Nations. The result? Draconian rules that forced automakers to produce expensive, less practical vehicles and pushed coal plants to the brink, spiking energy costs for families and small businesses. These policies didn’t cool the planet; they just made life more difficult for hardworking Americans while giving foreign competitors, such as China, a free pass to pollute and dominate global markets. The Trump EPA’s challenge to this finding is a rallying cry to reclaim our economic freedom and reject unproven climate alarmism.
Cutting-edge science supports this fight. Renowned physicists William Happer and Richard Lindzen have demonstrated that carbon dioxide’s heat-trapping effect is nearly saturated at current atmospheric levels of 400 parts per million. Doubling carbon dioxide would have a negligible impact on global temperatures, debunking the left’s apocalyptic narrative. Even more striking is that carbon dioxide is essential for life. It’s plant food, fueling the photosynthesis that drives crops such as wheat, corn, beans and rice — staples that feed billions. Recent satellite imagery shows a “greening” of once-barren regions, such as Africa’s Sahel, where rising carbon dioxide levels have boosted vegetation and supported food security. Conveniently ignored in 2009, these benefits expose the endangerment finding as a one-sided edict that exaggerated risks while dismissing the prosperity carbon dioxide enables.
Economically, the finding has been a disaster. Its regulations have cost taxpayers and businesses trillions of dollars, inflating car prices, utility bills and more. The average American family now pays more for energy and transportation with little to show beyond bloated government oversight. Small businesses, the backbone of our economy, have been hit hardest, forced to navigate a maze of compliance costs while competing with nations such as China that build coal plants without blinking. By challenging the endangerment finding, the Trump EPA is prioritizing jobs, innovation and affordability over speculative climate fears that have enriched global elites while impoverishing Main Street.
The legal case for reversal is ironclad. The 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA decision didn’t declare carbon dioxide a pollutant; it simply affirmed the EPA’s authority to make that call. Today’s Supreme Court, free from the liberal leanings of that era and bolstered by decisions such as West Virginia v. EPA, will evaluate the finding’s rescission under the Administrative Procedure Act, ensuring it’s not “arbitrary and capricious.”
With new evidence — carbon dioxide’s saturated warming effect and its agricultural benefits — plus changed circumstances such as the economic devastation of overregulation, the EPA has a compelling case. This isn’t about denying science but demanding policies grounded in reason, not ideology.
The left will fight back with everything they have. Environmental groups, bankrolled by radical green interests, will flood the courts, claiming the reversal ignores “settled science.” They will point to the 1.4°C of warming since preindustrial times and scream catastrophe, but they won’t engage with the inconvenient truth: Carbon dioxide’s benefits far outweigh its minimal climate impact. Their real aim is control over your car, energy and freedom. They have built a multibillion-dollar industry on climate fear, and they won’t let it go without a fight.
This is a defining moment for America’s future. Repealing the endangerment finding will unleash our economy, protect our sovereignty and refocus policy on what matters: affordable energy, consumer choice, jobs and a prosperous economy. Mr. Trump and Mr. Zeldin are leading the charge and will certainly have their work cut out for them. Let’s hope the courts, Congress and the general public will do their part to back them up, as they enthusiastically should.
• Collister Johnson is a senior policy adviser for the Washington-based Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.
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