1439. The Significance of the Relaxation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations in the US

In the United States, one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reportedly made a final decision on February 12, 2026, overturning the "danger determination" established after years of scientific review. At the same time, it also lifted emissions standards for light, medium, and heavy vehicles. 

An article from the World Resources Institute (WRI) explains the implications of this regulatory reversal:

In 2009, after years of extensive scientific review, the EPA officially determined that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. This "Endangerment Finding" was based on overwhelming evidence from the EPA's own experts, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the scientific community, demonstrating that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel extraction and combustion are causing global climate change and harming people. The EPA's greenhouse gas determination provided the legal basis for federal climate policy, including regulating emissions from vehicles, industry, and power plants, as well as treating climate change as a public health issue under the EPA's authority.

The EPA has now issued a rule stating that the scientific evidence and legal interpretations underlying the endangerment determination are incorrect and must be reversed. This rule does not reverse all air pollution regulations; the EPA still regulates pollutants such as nitrous oxide and ozone. However, this repeal targets the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases emitted from the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels.

The implications are far-reaching. Without a risk determination, regulating greenhouse gas emissions will no longer be a legal requirement. WRI argues that without federal action to reduce emissions, the impacts of climate change will become increasingly severe, potentially affecting food production through changes in growing conditions and increased frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, heat, and cold. It also points out that climate disasters could become more frequent and severe, resulting in higher insurance premiums and rising costs for infrastructure repair and emergency response.

The WRI article warns that America's distancing from science not only weakens its environmental and public health policies, but also threatens American leadership on a wide range of issues, from trade and finance to industrial competitiveness and national security.

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki, Information Program