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EPA Repeal of Climate Endangerment Finding Erases Federal Vehicle GHG Limits, Triggers Legal Fight

A D.C. Circuit challenge by environmental and health groups now tests the administration’s bid to limit EPA climate authority under the Clean Air Act.

The Mill Creek Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, hovers over a Louisville neighborhood on February 14, 2026.
President Donald Trump arrives to announce the Environmental Protection Agency will no longer regulate greenhouse gases, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington.
An airplane prepares to land at the LAX airport over traffic on the 405 Freeway on February 13, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Under Trump, the EPA has repealed a rule that links vehicle emissions and other greenhouse gases to human health risks.
Mill Creek Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Louisville, Kentucky, pictured this year from across the river in Indiana. The government's continued ability to regulate emissions from power plants will depend on what happens in the courts over the next few years.

Overview

  • The EPA on Feb. 12 rescinded the 2009 Endangerment Finding, removing the Clean Air Act basis for regulating greenhouse gases and repealing limits on new vehicle emissions.
  • More than a dozen environmental and public‑health organizations have sued in the D.C. Circuit to overturn the repeal, with leading health groups announcing plans to join.
  • The administration’s case centers on a jurisdictional claim that climate pollution is a global problem beyond the statute’s reach and that specific vehicle classes contribute too little to trigger regulation.
  • Public‑health experts and medical organizations warn the rollback will increase soot and smog and intensify climate‑related risks such as extreme heat and wildfire smoke, especially in overburdened communities.
  • Legal scholars say the litigation could take years and may reach the Supreme Court, potentially redefining the scope of EPA authority over climate pollution.