WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to overturn the 2009 endangerment finding, which declares that greenhouse gas emissions threaten public health and vehicle emissions contribute to climate change.
Keep reading to see what Zeldin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have to say about the proposal.
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EPA ANNOUNCES PROPOSAL TO ROLL BACK LANDMARK CLIMATE FINDING: The Trump administration is officially moving to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding, a 16-year-old administrative ruling that determined greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to the public.
The details: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced this afternoon that the agency has proposed overturning the finding, questioning the government’s ability to regulate emissions entirely.
“We do not have that power on our own to decide as an agency that we are going to combat global climate change because we give ourselves that power. We will follow the law,” Zeldin said.
The agency’s primary argument behind the move is that the EPA overstepped its legal authority under the Clean Air Act.
Not only is the EPA moving to roll back the finding, but some regulations that stem from it. Specifically, the agency is planning to rescind regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles. Republicans have likened these tailpipe standards to an electric vehicle mandate.
Quick reminder: The 2009 Endangerment Finding determined that six greenhouse gases found in the atmosphere that are generated by human activity, including carbon dioxide and methane, threaten public health and welfare. It was supported by a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
The finding has underpinned three administrations’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions regulations. Repealing the finding would not only threaten all of these, but also future administrations’ ability to issue policies related to curbing climate change.
Read more from Callie here.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SUPPORT: The EPA’s decision to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding has administration-wide support, including from the Department of Energy, which is poised to release a study downplaying the effects of climate change.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced this afternoon that the report will be posted on the agency’s website and be open for comment later today. The report was authored by five independent scientists selected by Wright himself, several of whom are widely considered to be climate skeptics or contrarians.
Key findings: The report says that claims of increased frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and droughts are not supported by U.S. historical data, that CO2-induced warming is less damaging economically than commonly thought, that aggressive mitigation policies cause more harm than good, and that U.S. policy actions will have undetectably small direct impacts on the global climate.
Wright said this afternoon that climate change is a “real physical phenomenon,” but said past action aimed at curbing it has failed to focus on the “real science.”
“Whether you’re interested in climate change or not, the politics surrounding climate change have shrunk your life,” the secretary said.
Reactions to EPA’s endangerment finding proposal: Overturning the endangerment finding is like “a doctor repealing the finding that smoking causes cancer, or a firefighter repealing the finding that a lit match can cause a fire,” Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said in front of the EPA headquarters today.
“Listen up, Lee Zeldin, the science is against you. The law is against you. You can try to censor our information. You can try to silence our scientists. You can try to fire hundreds of biologists and chemists and physicists, but you cannot change the science,” Markey added.
“The era of weaponizing environmental policy against American workers is over,” said Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis. “President Trump and Administrator Zeldin have chosen prosperity, energy reliability, and common sense over the climate cult’s radical job-killing agenda. Today’s action is a major deal and recognizes that Wyoming coal, oil, and gas are vital American resources, not emissions to be regulated out of existence by unelected Washington bureaucrats.”
“By seeking to rescind the endangerment finding and the vehicle emissions standards, EPA is taking a drastic step in its attack on clean air regulations—needlessly putting the health of millions of Americans at risk,” said Conrad Schneider, senior director, U.S. at Clean Air Task Force.
DOT SAYS BUTTIGIEG IGNORED WIND PROJECT SAFETY CONCERNS: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said former DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg ignored safety concerns regarding wind projects being constructed near highways and railroads.
DOT said that, in 2023, the department found that Illinois’ Heritage Prairie Wind Energy Project, which was located near high speed passenger and freight rail infrastructure, could be problematic for train communication. Then, in 2024, those recommendations were withdrawn without reason, DOT said.
Duffy claimed that Buttigieg ignored safety concerns to invest billions of dollars into clean energy projects and prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. The secretary is now launching a department-wide review and urged Congress to also investigate the matter.
DOT said it found 33 projects for which the previous administration rescinded the original safety recommendations. Duffy said the department will now recommend a minimum 1.2 mile setback for turbines built near highways or railroads.
Read more from Maydeen here.
TRUMP BLASTS UK TAXES ON NORTH SEA OIL: President Donald Trump wants to see ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ worldwide, encouraging the United Kingdom to create more incentives for oil and gas companies and pursue more drilling projects.
The details: Ahead of his departure from Scotland, Trump turned to social media to criticize the UK government’s shift away from fossil fuels. He specifically targeted taxes on oil and gas profits, which were first introduced in 2022 and later raised by the current Labour government.
“North Sea Oil is a TREASURE CHEST for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social.
“They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, ‘we don’t want you.’ Incentivize the drillers, FAST,” he added. “A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!”
Some background: The UK aims to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. As part of this, it has lowered incentives for new fossil fuel development, including committing to not permitting any new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea. Last year, the government increased taxes on oil and gas profits from 35% to 38%, bringing the total tax rate for firms operating in the North Sea to around 78%, according to the Financial Times.
Fossil fuel lobbyists have insisted that increased oil and gas drilling will dramatically reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign sources of energy. In a March business outlook report, Offshore Energies UK estimated that an additional 2 to 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent could be available in the North Sea by 2050.
A DATA CENTER THAT USES MORE ELECTRICITY THAN ALL HOMES IN ITS STATE? Cheyenne, Wyoming, will be building an artificial intelligence data center that is expected to use more electricity than every home in the state.
The data center is being built by regional energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe. The data center will start out using 1.8 gigawatts of electricity then expand to 10 gigawatts. The two companies said the data center will utilize both natural gas and renewable energy developments in the region.
“It’s a game changer. It’s huge,” Mayor Patrick Collins said Monday. The Associated Press reports that a gigawatt can power as many as 1 million homes, but Wyoming is home to about 590,000 people.
Data centers are extremely energy-intensive projects. The high energy demand has raised questions about how to power the centers without constraining local power grids and raising electricity bills for customers.
Collins said he hopes the project will begin soon but state and local regulators still need to sign off on the project, the Associated Press said.
NEW YORK OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT SEES PROGRESS UNDER TRUMP: The Empire Wind project continues to see substantial progress on its construction after the Trump administration attempted to block the new offshore wind farm off the coast of New York.
The details: Earlier this month, the first U.S.-flagged vessel that will be able to bury undersea cables connecting the offshore wind turbines to the onshore power grid began its work, according to a Bloomberg report.
The ship, known as the Marmac 306, is a 300-foot barge built in Louisiana. It was built by Norwegian company Nexans SA and is operated by U.S.-based Crowley Maritime Corp. Having been built domestically, the ship will be allowed to transport and bury the cable in near-shore waters that would have been illegal for one made abroad.
It is currently digging a trench to lay the cable that will transport electricity generated by the offshore wind turbines to the state of New York. It is a slow process, as the ship has a top speed of 20 feet per minute, according to Bloomberg.
It is a notable step for the project, which was paused for roughly one month this spring by order of the Trump administration. The delay in construction cost developer Equinor nearly $1 billion.
ICYMI – DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY USES EMERGENCY ORDERS TO PROTECT MARYLAND POWER PLANT: The Department of Energy issued an emergency order late yesterday afternoon in an effort to keep a Maryland oil-fired power plant open and operating above its current output levels.
The details: The agency said it was using emergency orders authorized by the Federal Power Act in order to maintain reliable, affordable, secure, and uninterrupted power in the PJM grid region. DOE said that regional transmission operator PJM had requested the emergency order to exceed its operating limits for unit 4 of the Wagner Generating Station.
The emergency order lifts environmental limitations placed on the unit, which restricted it to operating no more than 438 hours per calendar year when burning fuel oil. The order now authorizes the plant to operate beyond that limit, through October 26.
“This order reduces the threat of power outages during peak demand conditions for millions of Americans,” Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.
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