Fighting climate protection

US Environmental Protection Agency destroys its own remit

Trump promised an offensive for fossil fuels.

(Bild: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will roll back dozens of regulations to protect nature and the climate that originated from the Trump administration's predecessors. The motto: It's allowed to stink again!

Among other things, higher greenhouse gas emissions for power plants, more exhaust fumes from cars and trucks and higher production volumes for oil and gas companies are to be permitted again, as announced by the head of the authority, Lee Zeldin. He explained that this was the "most momentous deregulation day in American history".

Specifically, the regulations on vehicle emissions issued by President Joe Biden's administration are to be reversed. Last year, the latter had ordered that exhaust emissions from passenger cars be reduced by almost 50 percent by 2032 compared to the values forecast for 2027.

The EPA has predicted that between 35 and 56 percent of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 would have to be electric to meet the regulations. The EPA is also reconsidering a 2022 regulation that aims to drastically reduce smog and soot emissions from heavy-duty trucks. This will make trucks more expensive.

Further grace period for coal-fired power plants
The 31 proposed amendments also include the fact that coal-fired power plants will no longer be required to operate in an almost climate-neutral manner until 2032. In addition, the federal administration will no longer be able to regulate waterways and wetlands. Zeldin promised that the proposed changes would save huge sums of money that currently have to be shouldered by companies and consumers to comply with regulations and as "hidden taxes".

The EPA also wants to be allowed to ignore a 2009 ruling that climate-damaging greenhouse gases endanger public health and prosperity. This ruling from Barack Obama's time in office was repeatedly used as a legal justification for environmental regulations in the USA. However, environmentalists have said that non-compliance cannot be so easily prescribed and that the planned EPA changes could be overturned by the courts. This also applies to some of the other changes announced.

During last year's election campaign, US President Donald Trump repeatedly promised significant cuts to environmental policy and the expansion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. He has withdrawn the USA from the Paris climate protection agreement and describes the environmental protection measures of previous Democrat governments, summarized as the "Green New Deal", as a "Green New Scam". According to a report, 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded and the first to be more than 1.5 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average worldwide.