Trump admin to remove EPA's climate regulation authority: Report

The Trump administration is drafting a measure to revoke the federal government's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change

The plan would create an Environmental Protection Agency rule repealing a 2009 declaration known as the Endangerment Finding

which established greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane as a deadly threat to humans

The plan was first reported Tuesday by The New York Times citing two people familiar with the proposal

The new EPA rule, which reportedly could be made public within a matter of days

also aims to roll back limits on tailpipe emissions that were meant to incentivize automakers to make and sell more electric vehicles

Those limits were crucial to the Biden administration's promotion of EVs rather than gas-powered vehicles

The transportation industry is responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S

The sources familiar with the plan tell The Times that the EPA will say it the pollution restrictions that present a threat to human health because they lead to more expensive vehicles and fewer choices for consumers A spokesperson for the EPA did not reveal details of the plan In a statement to The Times

she says the agency did submit a draft proposal to the White House on June 30th

She says it will be published after it has completed an interagency review

and is approved by the EPA administrator. CNN reports that the plan may still be changed

before a final version is released. If the White House succeeds in revoking the endangerment

finding it would reportedly rescind all current restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from

vehicles, factories, power plants, and other polluters that burn fossil fuels. Critics warn

it may also prevent future administrations from trying to combat climate change. If the proposal

is finalized, they say they expect legal challenges. Sources tell The Times the EPA will not dispute

that greenhouse gases are warming the planet. Rather, we'll argue that previous administrations

exceeded their legal authority by declaring greenhouse gases a threat to public health

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For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey