HOUSTON — Local environmental advocates expressed concern over the Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of a 2009 endangerment finding that classified greenhouse gases as a public health threat, a move that could affect federal climate regulations under the Clean Air Act.
The endangerment finding enabled the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s a cornerstone regulation for federal climate protections,” said Inyang Uwak, research and policy director at Air Alliance Houston.
Uwak said scientific research has shown greenhouse gas emissions can create negative health impacts and warned that revoking the finding could have broad consequences in major cities such as Houston, where vehicle traffic contributes to emissions.
“I think it’s a disservice to public health,” Uwak said. “It’s a disservice to American workers.”
Air Alliance Houston Executive Director Jen Hadayia also criticized the rollback in a news release.
“The Houston area is the petrochemical capital of the world and is facing massive decades-long freeway expansions,” Hadayia said. “We are already exposed to carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, particulate matter, and ozone precursors at levels that far exceed what is healthy, which is exactly why we need the vehicle emissions standards and other rules that the Endangerment Finding requires.”
Speaking on Houston Matters on Monday, Jim Blackburn, an environmental law professor at Rice University, said he disagrees with the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the finding. He added that many major companies are likely to continue efforts to curb emissions because of long-term benefits.
“The pathway to making more money in the future will be to be climate sensitive, to have a lower carbon footprint,” Blackburn said. “And I think that’s going to be, frankly, the watchword of business in the future.”