CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (March 12, 2025)—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin today announced a sweeping set of 31 actions to undercut the EPA’s ability to protect public health and the environment. Safeguards under attack include the Endangerment Finding, environmental justice, power plant regulations, vehicle standards, oil and gas regulations, the social cost of carbon and mandatory reporting of planet-warming emissions.
Below is a statement by Dr. Rachel Cleetus, the policy director with the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).
“Administrator Zeldin has completely eviscerated a suite of critical pollution standards and other EPA safeguards aimed at protecting people’s health and the environment, which will leave the nation sicker and our air, water and soil dangerously contaminated. The Trump administration is attempting to subvert the EPA’s mission from one of protecting public health and the environment to that of boosting the interests of polluters and billionaires. For communities across the country, especially those overburdened by pollution or acutely exposed to climate impacts and reckoning with the ongoing and escalating costs, this is a horrific day.
“These actions are premised on shocking levels of lies and disinformation, part of an administration-wide onslaught of purposeful destruction and propaganda. Though they will not hold up in the face of science or the court of law, they already pose grave and immediate threats to people and the environment.”
Additional UCS Resources:
- The Endangerment Finding is in Danger, blog post
- Here Comes the Fossil Fuel Agenda, blog post
- Beyond the Smokestack, report on climate and health impacts of gas-fired power plants
- Top Takeaways from the EPA Carbon Pollution Rules, blog post