A coalition of states, cities, and counties is taking on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its attempt to rescind key climate change protections, warning that the move would endanger public health and violate federal law.
The group submitted formal comments opposing the EPA’s proposal to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding—a landmark decision that classified greenhouse gas emissions as a threat to human health and welfare. The filing also defends strong vehicle emissions standards that have cut pollution and saved lives for decades.
A direct challenge to climate science
The coalition argues the EPA’s plan ignores scientific consensus, defies Supreme Court precedent, and abandons its duty under the Clean Air Act. They say the rollback would worsen the effects of climate change—like extreme heat, storms, wildfires, and flooding—and hit vulnerable communities hardest.
“Rolling back these protections would worsen asthma, heart disease, and premature deaths,” the group’s comment letter states, “and put vulnerable communities at even greater risk.”
In addition to challenging the EPA’s actions, the coalition also submitted a second letter warning against weakening federal vehicle emissions rules. Those standards are projected to prevent more than eight billion metric tons of climate pollution and avoid $1.8 trillion in climate damages over the next 30 years.
Questionable science under fire
The EPA’s proposed changes rely in part on a controversial report from the Department of Energy’s Climate Working Group—drafted in just two months by known climate skeptics and released without peer review.
In a separate filing, the coalition blasted the report for violating scientific integrity standards and mischaracterizing decades of climate research. They’ve asked the DOE to withdraw it entirely and argued in court that the federal government can’t rely on flawed data to justify major policy decisions.
Climate impacts already here
The effects of climate change are no longer hypothetical. In New York, the number of billion-dollar climate disasters has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and extreme heat now causes over 500 deaths annually in New York City alone.
The coalition’s message is clear: abandoning federal climate safeguards now would cost lives, harm the economy, and set the country back years in the fight against a warming planet.
Broad, bipartisan backing
The legal filings are backed by more than 20 state attorneys general, along with major cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Officials say the EPA must reverse course and recommit to protecting Americans from climate-driven harms.
“We cannot afford to retreat from science-based policies that save lives,” the filings argue. “The EPA is legally and morally obligated to act.”
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