US President Donald Trump announced that his administration would revoke the EPA’s 2009 endangerment determination.Image: keystone
Feb 12, 2026, 8:41 p.mFeb 12, 2026, 8:41 p.m
The US Environmental Protection Agency under the administration of President Donald Trump is withdrawing its scientific assessment of the dangers of greenhouse gases. “We are officially lifting the so-called endangerment finding,” said Trump in the White House.
The “Endangerment Finding” is a scientific finding by the Environmental Protection Agency during the term of Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and well-being. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, had already announced last summer that the risk assessment would be withdrawn.
The EPA originally classified six greenhouse gases as air pollution and a threat to human health in 2009 based on numerous scientific studies. This was the basis for the environmental authority being allowed to regulate the gases according to a central air pollution control law. The Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate pollutants in the air and set quality standards. Endangerment finding was therefore central to many climate protection measures in the USA.
Importance of greenhouse gases for climate change
According to research, greenhouse gases are considered the main driver of man-made climate change. Since the late 19th century, harmful emissions have led to a significant increase in average global temperatures. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this has an impact in all regions of the world – for example through more frequent and severe extreme weather events such as floods, heat waves or droughts.
In order to counteract this, emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases would have to fall quickly and significantly. In addition, large quantities of gases that have already been emitted would have to be removed from the atmosphere.
However, since Trump took office, the US government has been rigorously cutting funding for climate protection and research – for example on the subject of global warming. (sda/dpa)