Advocacy groups sue Trump administration over endangerment finding’s repeal

The US Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the climate change finding as part of a push to slash regulation.

More than a dozen health and environmental advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States over its decision to withdraw a key climate change finding from 2009.

That determination, known as the endangerment finding, had established that greenhouse gases are a risk to public health and environmental safety, given that they are the primary drivers of climate change.

But under President Donald Trump, the endangerment finding was rescinded on February 12.

That prompted Wednesday’s lawsuit, the first of its kind, which alleges that the Trump administration’s decision will risk the health and welfare of US citizens.

“Repealing the Endangerment Finding endangers all of us. People everywhere will face more pollution, higher costs, and thousands of avoidable deaths,” Peter Zalzal, the associate vice president of clean air strategies at Environmental Defense Fund, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.