Recognizing the lethality of air pollution that is also rapidly warming the planet, the Environmental Protection Agency issued the Endangerment Finding, which the Trump administration is trying to rescind. Photo: Shutterstock
It’s unequivocal: Carbon pollution endangers health and welfare. Scientists agree that the unfettered burning of fossil fuels is causing our planet to overheat, presenting a slew of risks, including extreme weather, sea level rise, floods, wildfires, and drought.
In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged that danger. That’s when the EPA issued the determination we know today as the “Endangerment Finding.” Issued in response to the 2007 Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA, the Endangerment Finding unambiguously declared that the air pollutants emitted whenever oil and gas are burned endanger public health and welfare. And not just for those affected directly today, but for future generations who will grapple with the fallout from an overheating planet. The finding was an explicit acknowledgment that our government is bound by its duty to protect communities from the devastating consequences of climate-damaging pollution under the Clean Air Act.
This groundbreaking conclusion of the Endangerment Finding gave the EPA the legal authority to regulate dangerous, climate-warming emissions from cars and trucks, factories, and power plants. It is the assessment that has allowed us to vigorously push back against the hazardous pollution posing the existential threat of climate change.
Now, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is promising to rescind the Endangerment Finding, despite its solid backing by an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence. This action imperils the health and safety of our families, who will inevitably face both acute and chronic disease and illness caused by breathing dirty air. It also jeopardizes the future of a planet on which climate change will make life increasingly untenable. Repealing the Endangerment Finding both sets us back from our fundamental obligation to protect health and impedes the urgent action we need to address climate change.
If Trump Repeals the Endangerment Finding, New England Must Lead
CLF is urging New England states to move swiftly to shield our region from the Trump EPA’s short-sighted and reckless decision to revoke the 2009 Endangerment Finding.
In New England, where CLF has successfully helped pass climate laws in five out of six states, we have an opportunity, even within this tragedy. The Endangerment Finding was born in New England, as was the basis for the legal standing in the case that prompted the finding. And it is here where it has the potential to live on.
Our state governments can take immediate and decisive action to counterbalance the regulatory power ceded by the rescinding of the Endangerment Finding. By adhering to, and even strengthening, laws that mandate cuts in climate-damaging emissions, New England states will protect residents from the direct scourge of toxic air. They also will demonstrate an unswerving commitment to meeting those mandates for the next generation.
Clean Energy Offers the Potential for Jobs and Economic Growth
There is also an economic benefit to New England’s commitment to cutting carbon pollution in the face of EPA inaction. If states step up regulation of the power, building, and transportation sectors, they will drive increased investment in renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy. These sectors bring jobs. In 2023, according to a Department of Energy report, record investments in clean energy manufacturing resulted in a 142,000-job increase in clean energy employment nationwide. In New England alone, there are at least 131,000 clean energy jobs. In Massachusetts in 2024, there were 115,000 direct workers in the clean energy sector. Consider how many more jobs could be created if New England states were to double down on clean technologies.
New England Can Lead the Way, Even Without the EPA Endangerment Finding — Again
New England is certainly not the largest geographic region, but historically, it has punched above its weight. In the Clean Air Act case leading to the 2009 Endangerment Finding, New England reaffirmed its ability to challenge federal policy. The ruling confirmed that states have a special legal standing to sue the federal government over environmental harm like air pollution. Since then, we’ve stood at the forefront of climate action.
CLF has led that fight. We have worked to pass state laws that require deep cuts in carbon pollution. We have also developed innovative instruments, such as the groundbreaking Climate Superfund Act in Vermont, which aims to ensure that fossil fuel companies bear the costs of damage resulting from extreme weather caused by climate change. It is our sheer determination to uphold our values, combined with our practicality and refusal to be bullied, that has led to the high quality of life we enjoy in New England. CLF is going to continue to push New England forward, so we may continue our role as a beacon for other states and regions bamboozled off the path of clean energy.
Let there be no doubt, carbon pollution and climate change are a national and global problem. Indeed, state action alone cannot substitute for robust federal regulation. However, in this moment in which the federal government has abdicated all responsibility, state action can make a substantial difference. The states know what needs to be done to make this clean energy transition, and now, they need to double down on doing it.
Speak up against the Trump administration’s latest assault on our health and environment by signing our petition.
