WASHINGTON, D.C. — The reported recommendation to overturn a 2009 regulatory finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare, if realized, will harm communities, public health, and wildlife across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long relied on scientific evidence that clearly states that greenhouse gases directly harm public health and the environment by fueling a range of climate change-associated impacts such as increasing formation of asthma-inducing ozone pollution, disease outbreaks, heat-related morbidity and mortality, extreme weather events, and more. 

“The Endangerment Finding is based on decades of established, proven scientific evidence and has been repeatedly affirmed by courts,” said Diane Pataki, chief scientist for the National Wildlife Federation. “Overturning this decision directly contradicts the EPA’s mandate to protect public health and address the sources of greenhouse gas pollution that have caused the climate crisis. Rather than overturning a decision that is backed by an enormous volume of evidence, the Administration should instead focus on ensuring a safer environment for wildlife and people alike.”