Rescinding Endangerment Finding Hands Another Win to the Fossil Fuel Industry
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance strongly opposes the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, a move that hands another win to the fossil fuel industry by dismantling the science-backed legal foundation that allows the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit and regulate harmful greenhouse gas pollution. This latest rollback represents another deliberate choice to put the interests of wealthy corporations and polluters ahead of science, public health, and the rule of law.
“Rescinding the Endangerment Finding is reckless and rewards big corporate polluters while exposing the rest of us to unchecked pollution from fossil fuels,” said Jacqueline Esposito, Advocacy Director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeeper groups see the reality of these impacts every day as storms, flooding, drought, and toxic runoff contaminate waterways and hit frontline communities hardest. The science is clear: greenhouse gas pollution endangers people and the environment. No matter your race, zip code, or what you have in your pocket, all communities deserve protection from harmful emissions and have the right to clean water, clean air, and a livable planet.”
Without the Endangerment Finding, polluting industries will be free to increase harmful emissions that worsen storms, floods, drought, extreme heat, and other climate disasters worldwide. Frontline communities, both in the U.S. and abroad, will bear the greatest impacts.
The rollback threatens decades of progress on climate and environmental protection, putting the most vulnerable at risk while accelerating global climate and water crises. Waterkeeper Alliance calls on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin to do his job to protect public health and our environment by requiring industries to reduce their emissions.