The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reportedly considering repealing the 2009 endangerment finding—a landmark declaration that identified greenhouse gas emissions as harmful to human health and the environment. The decision could have sweeping consequences for climate regulation in the United States. But scientists and climate experts from the University of Michigan say rolling it back now would be a dangerous step backward.
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“The EPA’s potential decision to rescind the endangerment finding on climate change would, in effect, be saying that climate change is not a threat,” said Andy Hoffman, Professor of Sustainable Enterprise. “We can deny that threat, but the insurance industry most certainly is not, with increasing storm frequency and severity leading to rising property insurance rates, reduced coverage, increased deductibles, more exclusions and, at the extreme, complete withdrawal from certain markets.”
The endangerment finding has been the scientific and legal backbone of US climate policy for more than a decade. Without it, the EPA loses its authority to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
“The role of science in regulation and policymaking has been understated in the current deconstruction of our science enterprise,” said Richard Rood, professor emeritus of climate and space sciences. “The persistent and consistent efforts over many years to dismantle the infrastructure and institutions for climate regulation show that this is more than the actions of a single administration.”
For Ann Jeffers, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering specializing in fire safety, the threat is literal and blazing. “Removing restrictions on carbon emissions will only exacerbate climate-related disasters. If you think America has a wildfire problem now, just wait,” she warned. “Carbon emissions are known to be the leading cause of climate change, which has produced a hotter, drier climate in North America. This, in turn, has resulted in more frequent and more intense wildfires… like the Los Angeles fires earlier this year, which resulted in thousands of structures burned and billions of dollars in losses.”
In Michigan, local leadership is already charting a more resilient path. Liesl Eichler Clark, the university’s first director of climate action engagement, emphasized the momentum at the state level: “Americans are suffering on a daily basis from our changing climate—from devastating floods to hurricanes to the now-commonplace challenge of wildfires. Climate change is causing loss of human life and property and harming human health.
Michigan is making progress on limiting our CO2 emissions in a cost-effective way… led by the MI Healthy Climate Plan roadmap, relying on clean energy solutions that are often cheaper and easier to use. Clean energy jobs in Michigan continue to grow, and our clean economy expands. We will continue to lead.”
The EPA is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks. If the endangerment finding is reversed, it could severely limit the government’s ability to confront climate change—just as the evidence of its toll becomes undeniable.
