Into the endangerment zone

ZELDIN ANNOUNCES REPEAL: After years of conservatives' pleas, the Trump administration on Tuesday proposed erasing the 2009 endangerment finding, the federal government’s bedrock scientific declaration on the dangers of greenhouse gases — a move that would run afoul of reams of research and topple most of the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate regulations, reports our Alex Guillén.

The rollback is President Donald Trump’s most audacious attempt yet to wipe out federal rules that constrain fossil fuels and comes as heatwaves continue to blaze across the U.S. (PJM, the nation’s largest power grid, extended its Maximum Generation and Load Management alerts due to the heat.) And it’s an inter-agency effort — shortly after the announcement, the Department of Energy published a report that seeks to challenge the scientific consensus around greenhouse gases’ impact on the climate, our Kelsey Tamborrino reports.

The endangerment finding isn’t the only thing under the microscope. The EPA also proposed scrapping all limits on carbon dioxide pollution from cars and trucks, a move Peter Huether, senior transportation research associate at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said would lead to increased fuel and maintenance costs for drivers and billions lost for businesses due to raised trucking costs.

The EPA also announced it would delay implementing methane gas emission rules passed under the Biden administration to give states and companies more time to adhere to older, more lenient standards for the potent greenhouse gas, reports our Ben Lefebvre.

House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Democrats slammed the rollback, saying the decision to repeal the endangerment finding “represents a disturbing new level of extreme science denial by the very agency entrusted to protect the American public from pollution.”

“Whether it’s the catastrophic flash floods in Texas, the wildfires that demolished Californian communities, or the scorching heat dome currently enveloping half of the U.S., it is no longer a question whether climate change endangers our lives,” they said in a statement.

But some Republican lawmakers are praising the decision. California Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa said the endangerment finding “twisted the law to give unelected bureaucrats the power to dictate lifestyles, driving up costs and force working Americans into electric vehicles they don’t want and can’t afford.”