NESCAUM Statement on Proposed Revocation of the Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases

(July 29, 2025, Boston, MA) The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) strongly denounces the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposal to revoke the Clean Air Act “Endangerment Finding” for greenhouse gases.

It is well established that greenhouse gases are pollutants subject to regulation and control under the Clean Air Act, and that greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to adverse changes in our planet’s climate.

Climate change-related threats, such as increased flooding and heat waves, are already deeply impacting our member states, this nation, and the world. These impacts will continue to get worse over time without corrective action.

EPA’s statutory duty under the Clean Air Act arises from the enormous volume of scientific evidence that greenhouse gases endanger the public health and welfare for current and future generations. Since its endangerment finding in 2009, EPA has taken significant actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions based on the robust science and the provisions of the Clean Air Act. EPA’s new proposal to revoke its previous finding ignores this overwhelming scientific record and its legal duty.

States and the federal government have critical responsibilities under the cooperative federalism framework of the Clean Air Act to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of air pollution. With EPA’s proposal, it is clear that the federal government is abandoning its long-standing legal obligations and leaves the states and their citizens increasingly vulnerable to the devastating and costly impacts of the greatest global crisis of our time.

The pollution reductions jeopardized by EPA’s proposed action are vital to mitigating climate change. This, and other recent actions, demonstrate that EPA is willing to ignore the very worst impacts of air pollution, causing lasting and significant harm to the people of the United States and the planet.

About NESCAUM

NESCAUM is the regional non-profit association of state air pollution control agencies in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. NESCAUM serves as a technical and policy advisor to its member agencies on a wide range of air pollution and climate issues and facilitates multi-state initiatives to improve air quality and mitigate climate change. For more than three decades, NESCAUM and its members have closely collaborated with California and other states, the EPA, and the automobile industry to promote low- and zero-emission vehicles.

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