Michigan LCV slams Trump EPA attack on landmark climate protections

EPA rollback of Endangerment Finding goes against science, poses massive threats to public health and safety, climate action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) today condemned EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and the Trump administration’s reckless plan to rescind the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2009 Endangerment Finding – a foundational scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The move threatens to dismantle decades of climate progress, eliminate vital emissions standards for everything from cars to power plants, and strip the EPA of its legal authority to protect Americans from the harmful pollution that creates more extreme weather, illnesses, and even premature death. 

“The Trump administration’s rollback of the Endangerment Finding is a blatant attack on the Clean Air Act and every Michigander’s right to clean air, a safe climate, and a healthy future,” said Bentley Johnson, federal government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “The Trump and Lee Zeldin climate chaos plan will erase decades of science and climate action, and unleash a wave of pollution that puts our health, economy, and environment at even greater risk, all while making it more expensive for Michiganders and American families to pay their energy bills. It’s clear that the Trump administration believes it’s more important to protect polluters instead of protecting people.” 

Michiganders are already living with the impacts of the climate crisis, including extreme heat, toxic air pollution from smoke and smog, and increases in the number and severity of floods and power outages from extreme weather. Volatility in seasonal temperatures and precipitation is leading to crop failures and major risks to our agricultural sector, which is one of our most important economic sectors. Rolling back the Endangerment Finding would remove the legal backbone of the EPA’s authority to act, putting vulnerable communities at great risk and accelerating the climate crisis.