The Trump administration is making the conspiratorial denial of climate science the official policy of the United States government.
The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has proposed a new rulemaking, “Reconsideration of 2009 Endangerment Finding and Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards.”
The proposed rule relies on a report by a group of five prominent climate deniers commissioned by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate.”
Wright, a former fracking executive, formed the “Climate Working Group” of evangelical conservatives John Christy and Roy Spencer, oil-industry consultant Judith Curry, Canadian evangelical economist Ross McKitrick, and BP physicist Steve Koonin.
Public comment on the proposed rule is open until September 21, with a virtual public hearing scheduled for August 19 and 20. EPA economist Beth Miller is the contact person for the hearing, at (734) 214–4703 or [email protected]. People wishing to speak will be given three minutes each.
The introduction to the reconsideration:
In this action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to repeal all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavyduty vehicles and engines to effectuate the best reading of Clean Air Act (CAA) section 202(a). We propose that CAA section 202(a) does not authorize the EPA to prescribe emission standards to address global climate change concerns and, on that basis, propose to rescind the Administrator’s prior findings in 2009 that GHG emissions from new motor vehicles and engines contribute to air pollution which may endanger public health or welfare. We further propose, in the alternative, to rescind the Administrator’s prior findings in 2009 because the EPA unreasonably analyzed the scientific record and because developments cast significant doubt on the reliability of the findings. Lastly, we propose to repeal all GHG emission standards on the alternative bases that no requisite technology for vehicle and engine emission control can address the global climate change concerns identified in the findings without risking greater harms to public health and welfare.