WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally repealed the 2009 endangerment finding, dismantling the legal framework that for 17 years underpinned federal regulations on emissions and imposed costs on American industry. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin declared a moment of “vindication” for climate skeptics, signaling a reversal of policies previously driven by what he termed “liberal politicians and environmental groups.”
Administrator Zeldin delivered the keynote address at a conference hosted by the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that challenges mainstream climate science and what it describes as “climate alarmism.” He stated that the repeal reverses decades of “unthinking adherence” to these groups regarding perceived climate dangers. The move effectively eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks and could lead to a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources like power plants and oil and gas facilities, according to experts.
Reclaiming National Authority
The Trump administration, which initiated the repeal, has consistently argued that the 2009 finding harmed national industry and the economy. It contended that the Obama and Biden administrations manipulated science to classify greenhouse gases as a public health risk. The EPA spokeswoman, Carolyn Holran, affirmed that “the era of EPA as a vehicle for radical ideology is over,” stating that Administrator Zeldin has refocused the agency on its statutory obligations to protect human health and the environment, relying on “gold standard science, not doomsday models designed to scare the public into compliance.” This marks a significant shift away from supranational climate agendas that have historically dictated national policy.
Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from New York, is reportedly under consideration for a possible promotion to attorney general following Pam Bondi’s departure last week. His appearance before the Heartland Institute reflects the administration’s broader effort to roll back environmental policies, with the EPA having already rescinded dozens of air and water protections and asserting it lacks legal authority to regulate climate change. James Taylor, president of the Heartland Institute, lauded Zeldin’s speech, calling him “the greatest EPA administrator ever.”
The Cost of Globalist Agendas
Environmental groups have denounced the repeal and Zeldin’s address, with Joe Bonfiglio, U.S. director of the Environmental Defense Fund, accusing Zeldin of “rallying climate deniers” and promoting “disinformation.” Bonfiglio criticized the Heartland Institute as a “disinformation factory” doing the bidding of its “secretive donors,” which include oil and gas interests. He called Zeldin’s speech “tone-deaf and even insulting to Americans,” citing rising costs of gasoline and other energy, alongside recent extreme weather events like a gigantic heat dome that affected the Southwest last month.
Bonfiglio’s remarks highlight the economic burden placed on the native working class by policies that prioritize globalist climate frameworks over national energy independence. The Heartland Institute, based in Illinois, describes itself as a “free-market think tank” and aims to “challenge the narrative that the world faces a climate crisis” driven by fossil fuels. The organization does not disclose its full funder list. Legal challenges against the repeal have been filed by nearly two dozen states, along with various cities, public health, and environmental groups, indicating ongoing institutional resistance to the reassertion of national sovereignty over energy policy.