The EPA’s Endangerment Finding Is Under Attack. Here’s How You Can Take Action.

Photo by POW Creative Alliance member Sara Robbins

Earlier this month, the EPA proposed gutting the Endangerment Finding, the science-backed foundation for regulating climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. This action puts public health, environmental protections, and climate policy at serious risk. The proposal, announced by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, represents the most significant rollback of federal climate protections in decades.

While headlines may focus on politics, this isn’t a partisan issue. It’s about science, public health, and the air we breathe.

At Protect Our Winters, we represent the Outdoor State, the 181 million Americans who recreate outside and care deeply about clean air, a stable climate, and the future of our planet. Backed by a science alliance, professional athletes, creatives, and major outdoor brands, we are committed to advocating for the communities whose livelihoods, health, and way of life are directly threatened by climate change. We strongly oppose the EPA’s proposed rollback of the Endangerment Finding.  Let’s break down exactly what this means for the Outdoor State and our communities.

What Is the Endangerment Finding?

First issued by the EPA in 2009, the Endangerment Finding concluded that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. This determination was, and still is, based on overwhelming, peer-reviewed scientific evidence from institutions like NASA, NOAA, the National Academies, and the EPA’s own findings. It gave the EPA both the legal authority and the obligation to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from major sources such as vehicles, power plants, and industrial facilities under the Clean Air Act.

The Endangerment Finding remains the legal foundation for nearly every federal climate regulation, including fuel economy standards and emissions limits. The science underpinning it has only strengthened. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (2023), “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” The U.S. National Climate Assessment (2023) confirms that climate change is already harming American communities and will only worsen without urgent action. Greenhouse gases remain the primary driver of climate change, and there is no new scientific evidence that justifies reversing the Endangerment Finding. Doing so would ignore the best available science and violate the EPA’s duty to safeguard public health and welfare.

Why Is the EPA Trying to Repeal It?

Administrator Zeldin and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have called the 2009 finding “unprecedented” and criticized it for being politically driven, despite it being grounded in decades of peer-reviewed scientific research and upheld by the courts multiple times. Their justification includes a brief internal review conducted by select scientists, rather than the broader scientific community.

This rollback is paired with proposals to eliminate carbon pollution limits from vehicles and power plants, two of the largest sources of greenhouse gases in the country.

What’s at Stake?

If the Endangerment Finding is rescinded, the EPA would lose its legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This decision could set the U.S. back decades in the fight for clean air and a livable climate. The consequences would be immediate and far-reaching:

• The Endangerment Finding is what gives the EPA legal authority to regulate GHGs.
• Rescinding it would undo all vehicle emissions standards and jeopardize all current and future climate protections.
• It would severely weaken national efforts to fight climate change and protect public health, particularly for outdoor communities breathing in wildfire smoke and urban smog.

Clean Air, Clean Lungs, Healthy Future

Greenhouse gas emissions don’t just warm the planet. They directly degrade the air we breathe and the health of our communities. Rising emissions fuel extreme weather, wildfire smoke, and urban heat islands, all of which worsen air quality. In 2023 alone, 120 million Americans were exposed to hazardous wildfire smoke, double the number from just a decade ago. That smoke has been linked to increased emergency room visits for respiratory and cardiovascular issues. At the same time, GHGs drive ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which contribute to asthma, heart disease, and premature death. Extreme heat, now the deadliest weather event in the U.S., disproportionately impacts children, the elderly, and low-income communities.

For those of us who live, work, and recreate outdoors, these risks are deeply personal. The $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation economy, which supports over 5 million jobs, depends on clean air, a healthy snowpack, and stable seasons. Today, outdoor athletes and communities are contending with wildfire closures, disappearing snow, and unbreathable air. Vermont alone has lost 22% of its snow days in the last two decades. Cities like Denver, Salt Lake City, and L.A. are seeing more high-smog days, leading to canceled outdoor activities and economic losses for local businesses.

The science is clear: greenhouse gases endanger public health, and the evidence has only grown stronger since the EPA’s original 2009 finding. Leading climate scientists agree that there is no credible basis for reversing it.

Why This Moment Matters

This is more than just a bureaucratic decision; it’s a turning point. Dismantling the Endangerment Finding would topple nearly all federal climate protections. And it’s happening at a time when the world is dangerously close to surpassing the 1.5°C warming threshold, a line scientists say we cannot afford to cross.

That’s why this moment demands public action. POW CEO Erin Sprague showed up on behalf of the Outdoor State to testify at the EPA public hearing on August 19. You can watch her testimony below:

POW is also drafting a substantive sign-on comment letter you can support in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned. 

We need YOU to help prevent what could be the biggest lethal blow to the climate in American history. Thanks for standing with us and choosing action over apathy.

Author: Stacie Sullivan

Stacie always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the ski industry from a young age, having first clicked into skis at the age of 4 and writing her 8th grade career project on being a professional skier. While her dreams of becoming a professional athlete didn’t quite pan out the way she planned at […]