EPA Repeals 2009 Climate Endangerment Finding
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- EPA rescinded its 2009 endangerment finding on February 12, a rule that declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health and welfare, allowing regulation of emissions under the Clean Air Act.
- Climate activists and Scientist Rebellion Turtle Island staged a mock funeral on February 12, wearing sackcloth and ash to mourn the loss of the endangerment finding and its consequences for climate policy.
- Michelle Merrill, an evolutionary anthropologist, co-organized the protest ceremony, framing it as a collective expression of grief over the rollback of a foundational climate regulation.
- The 2009 endangerment finding enabled the EPA to set emissions standards for vehicles, power plants, and industrial sources, forming the legal basis for major climate regulations until its 2025 repeal.
- The repeal of the endangerment finding takes effect April 20, removing a key regulatory tool for curbing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from major polluting sectors.
Why it matters: The repeal strips the EPA of its core legal authority to regulate climate pollution, weakening federal climate action just as impacts intensify. Without the endangerment finding, emissions rules for power plants and vehicles face legal collapse, harming public health and regulatory certainty.
