Climate change is a collective problem for all life on planet earth. Denial of the strong scientific consensus on climate change, its causes and its impacts will not protect us from extreme weather events, such as wildfires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, and severe heatwaves, that are increasingly a part of our lives.

The United States is among the largest global emitters of greenhouse gases, a leading driver of climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest sectors for greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are transport, electricity generation, industry, commercial and residential, and agriculture.

In a move that will make it more difficult for the United States to mitigate the effects of climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to rescind the “endangerment finding.” This 2009 declaration by the EPA is a scientific analysis that found that greenhouse gases contribute to a warming planet and thus pose a public health threat. The endangerment finding gives the federal government the legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, which includes regulating pollution from automobiles, power plants, oil fields, and more. .

Rescinding this declaration could eliminate almost all of the United States’ current climate regulations. The EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin, made the announcement at a car dealership in Indiana this week, stating, “The proposal would, if finalized, amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.”

Once the proposal is finalized by the Federal Government, it will be published in the Federal Register, where the public will be able to make comments before a final ruling is published. Environmental protection, conservation, wildlife protection organizations and more are expected to challenge the decision in court, as climate science overwhelmingly shows that greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change and pose a threat to public health. In fact, there is legal precedent where the Supreme Court has agreed in the past that the EPA has the authority to regulate climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. And with climate-related disasters causing billions of dollars in damages and the deaths of hundreds of Americans this year alone, the U.S. government cannot ignore the role humans play in the warming of our planet.

All life on Earth is interconnected. Climate change affects animals, the environment, and people all over the world.  Fighting climate change is one fight that all humanity has in common. While this discouraging decision by the Trump administration to stop regulating greenhouse gas emissions would be a major step backward, many nonprofit organizations, institutions and individuals in the U.S., including our FOUR PAWS USA team, remain committed to combating climate change and protecting humans, animals, and nature.