FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 29, 2025
CONTACT: Liane Jollon, Executive Director, 970-769-0354, liane@westernleaders.org
Jessica Pace, Program Director, 615-294-2049, jess@westernleaders.org
Western Leaders Network, Appalachian Leaders Network condemn EPA proposal to roll back endangerment finding
EPA rollback would make climate denial official at the expense of public health, environment and communities’ well-being
Western Leaders Network Executive Director Liane Jollon released the following statement:
“The Trump administration has disregarded science, legal precedent and public consensus today by moving to rescind the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding and embracing a plan that claims climate change and the pollution that causes it pose no threat to public health or our environment. This is an affront to local, tribal and state elected officials who are grappling daily with the effects of a warming climate, including extreme weather events, severe heat and drought, decreased snowpack, wildfires, worsening air quality and more – all of which have significant health, environmental and economic repercussions for their communities. Instead of fulfilling its obligation to protect people from pollution, the EPA is empowering polluting industries and threatening the hard-won protections that keep our communities safe and healthy, lower energy costs and address the science-based reality of climate change.”
Background
On Tuesday, July 29, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a proposal to repeal the 2009 federal greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which was a formal finding under the Obama administration that greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane emitted from human activities are leading causes of climate change and pose a threat to public health and welfare. The finding is what requires EPA to protect people from climate pollution and its impacts, and is the basis for most major federal climate regulations issued in the years since.
Western Leaders Network and Appalachian Leaders Network harness the influence of more than 1,000 local, tribal, and state elected and appointed officials across the Interior West and Ohio River Valley region to advance energy transition, clean air and water initiatives, and democracy protections.