CNN
—
The Trump administration announced its intent to roll back major climate policies Wednesday, including rules that target pollution from vehicles and power plants, in a major blow to America’s progress on clean air, clean water and climate action.
The changes are expected to inject even more uncertainty into key industries, including manufacturing, which President Donald Trump has pledged to support.
The administration was announcing rollbacks and actions in such rapid succession — 31 in around two hours — there appeared to still be placeholders or typos in the news releases.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it will undo rules that would have pushed power plants and carmakers toward cleaner forms of energy. It also intends to roll back rules on soot, mercury and coal ash pollution, as well as the so-called “good neighbor rule” that regulates downwind air pollution, and eliminate its programs overseeing environmental justice and diversity.
Significantly, Trump’s EPA is also preparing to reconsider and strike down a consequential scientific finding on the dangers of climate pollution that has served as the basis behind federal regulations to curb them. Dismissing the precedent would strip the EPA’s authority to manage the pollution that causes global warming.
The Union of Concerned Scientists said the Trump administration’s actions Wednesday would sacrifice human health for the benefit of private industry.
The rollbacks “will leave the nation sicker and our air, water and soil dangerously contaminated,” said Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director for the group, said in a statement. “The Trump administration is attempting to subvert the EPA’s mission from one of protecting public health and the environment to that of boosting the interests of polluters and billionaires.”
Cleetus called it “a horrific day” for people suffering from the burden of air and water pollution.
Speaking at a major energy conference in Houston this week, Trump officials questioned climate science and made clear they intend to put Biden’s major climate rules through the shredder.
“The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational, quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens,” Energy Sec. Chris Wright said at CERAWeek on Monday.
The Trump administration “will treat climate change for what it is — a global physical phenomenon that is a side effect of building the modern world,” he said.
Trump’s EPA will have to go through a months-long regulatory process to undo the Biden rules and put forth new ones, and Wednesday’s announcement kicks off that process.
Climate and environmental groups railed against the EPA’s various moves and vowed to challenge them in court.
“The Trump administration’s ignorance is trumped only by its malice toward the planet,” said Jason Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Come hell and high water, raging fires and deadly heatwaves, Trump and his cronies are bent on putting polluter profits ahead of people’s lives.”
The fresh pendulum swing for regulations could prove difficult for the auto and electricity utility industries, which plan years in advance and typically like stability. CNN has reached out to electrical and vehicle industry trade groups for comment.
The EPA is targeting EVs by dismantling a vehicle pollution rule the Biden administration finalized in March 2024, which — by mandating less pollution from cars — would have pushed US automakers to produce more EVs and fuel-efficient hybrid models that run on a mixture of gas and small batteries.
“The American auto industry has been hamstrung by the crushing regulatory regime of the last administration,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement, adding the Trump administration “will abide by the rule of law to protect consumer choice and the environment.”
A key auto industry group had a measured response to the announcement.
“A balanced approach to emissions in the U.S. is key to preserving vehicle choice, keeping the industry globally competitive and in a position to support the country’s economic and national security in the years ahead,” John Bozzella, president and CEO Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said in a statement.
The news for carmakers came just a day after Trump held a presidential EV auto show in front of the White House, showcasing his senior adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s electric cars and vowing to buy one himself at full price, after Tesla’s stock dipped amid increasing protests against Musk’s role in government and slumping sales in Europe.
‘It only got more surreal’: Anderson Cooper on Trump’s makeshift Tesla showroom at the White House
“I haven’t driven a car in a long time, and I love to drive cars,” Trump told reporters at the event. “But I’m going to have it at the White House, and I’m going to let my staff use it.”
Trump often railed against EVs while running for president, but he has softened his stance since forming a close relationship with Musk.
The Trump administration on Wednesday also announced it intended to dismantle a Biden administration rule that compelled coal and new natural gas power plants to either cut or capture 90% of their climate pollution by 2032.
Zeldin went as far as to recall the Obama administration’s power plant rule, saying in a statement that Trump “promised to kill the Clean Power Plan in his first term, and we continue to build on that progress now.”
“Electric companies must have a consistent federal framework in place,” said Alex Bond, the executive director of clean energy and environment at electric utility trade group Edison Electric Institute. “Otherwise, they would face a patchwork of state regulations and lawsuits from plaintiffs that could raise costs to customers and impact grid reliability.”
Bond added the trade group and its member companies “continue to support EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.”
This story has been updated with additional news and information.
