On February 12, US President Donald Trump announced the cancellation of the so-called “endangerment finding” (endangerment finding) – a document from 2009, which recognized greenhouse gases as a threat to health. This decision will make it possible to lift restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, including for the automobile industry, Deutsche Welle writes.
Trump called the move “the greatest deregulatory measure” in US history. Trump called the climate protection laws passed under former US President Barack Obama “disastrous.” He said the measures “have severely damaged the American auto industry and significantly raised prices for Americans.”
Based on the repealed document, the US imposed strict environmental standards for coal and gas-fired power plants, as well as regulations limiting tailpipe emissions.
Lee Zeldin, head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said that the repeal of the standards would save U.S. taxpayers $1.3 trillion. How exactly the calculations were made, Zeldin did not explain.
Obama: We will be less healthy and less protected
Former US President Barack Obama criticized Donald Trump’s decision. According to Obama, without endangerment finding Americans will be “less protected, less healthy, and less able to fight climate change – all so that the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.”
Trump was also sharply criticized by environmental organization Greenpeace, accusing him of “constantly lying” about climate change. “While this move enriches big oil companies, everyone else has to pay the price,” said Tim Donaghy, a spokesman for the organization.
Earlier, the US president said climate change warnings were “the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on the world”.
