WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump revoked a 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding that established the legal basis for most federal greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles.
Trump called it a “disastrous” policy, saying it damaged the American auto industry and drove up prices for American consumers. The decision determined that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, pose a threat to public health under the Clean Air Act, triggering a wave of new environmental regulations.
The president formalized the rescission alongside Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin during a ceremony at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
“It has nothing to do with public health. This was all a scam, a giant scam. This was a ripoff of the country by Obama and Biden. Let’s say Obama started it and got it rolling,” Trump said.
“These crippling restrictions were a major factor in driving up car prices to unprecedented levels and the car that you were getting was not nearly as good,” he said.
Zeldin described the move as “a big deal.” He said it is the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the U.S.
Trump called it a “disastrous” policy, saying it damaged the American auto industry and drove up prices for American consumers. The decision determined that six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, pose a threat to public health under the Clean Air Act, triggering a wave of new environmental regulations. (TNND)
“This action will save American taxpayers over $1.3 trillion,” he said. “What that means is lower prices, more choices, and an end of heavy-handed climate policies. With today’s announcement, American families will save over $2,400 for a new vehicle.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said the bulk of the savings will stem from reduced costs for new cars, SUVs, and trucks.
“This is just one more way this administration is working to make life more affordable for everyday Americans,” Leavitt said during a separate news conference on Tuesday. She also said it will create economic growth and thousands of jobs, expand manufacturing, as well as increase consumer choice.
While some environmental groups described the move as the single biggest attack in U.S. history against federal authority to address climate change, withdrawing the endangerment finding “is the most important step taken by the Trump administration so far to return to energy and economic sanity,” said Myron Ebell, an activist who has questioned the science behind climate change.
Ebell said the decision “will make our economy more productive and benefit consumers, most immediately by allowing auto manufacturers to produce the vehicles that people want to buy.”
Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator who served as White House climate adviser in the Biden administration, called the Trump administration’s actions reckless.
“This EPA would rather spend its time in court working for the fossil fuel industry than protecting us from pollution and the escalating impacts of climate change,” she said.
Former Trump EPA Chief of Staff, Mandy Gunasekara told The National News Desk, the $1.3 trillion Trump mentioned are regulatory savings directly related to this rule. Around $1.1 trillion from getting rid of these regulations and the cost they leave on vehicles. The remaining money, eliminating the crediting system like the start, top feature.
“If you break that down by the number of vehicles that are out there, that breaks down to $2,400 per vehicle that going forward will be reduced,” Gunasekara said.
Gunasekara called the move, “unbelieve,” in the sense that many didn’t think this opportunity would present itself. But also, because of the magnitude, she believes it will have.
“In reigning in unfettered bureaucratic overreach into just about every facet of Americans lives and delivering real cost savings to family budgets and the pocketbooks all across the country,” said Gunasekara.
_____________
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
