EPA rescinds greenhouse gas Endangerment Finding

Summary

On February 12, 2026, EPA finalized a rule rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding - the determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare - and simultaneously repealed all GHG emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles of model years 2012-2027 and beyond. The rule was published in the Federal Register on February 18, 2026 and took effect April 20, 2026.

What happened

The reconsideration process began March 12, 2025; a formal proposal was signed July 29, 2025. After a 52-day public comment period receiving approximately 572,000 written comments, EPA finalized the rescission on February 12, 2026. The final rule removes the statutory basis under Clean Air Act Section 202(a) for regulating GHG emissions from motor vehicles. It also eliminated all model-year 2012-2027 GHG emission standards and associated averaging, banking, and trading (ABT) provisions. The final rule states that EPA separately regulates stationary sources under authorities outside the scope of this rulemaking. Seventeen health and environmental groups challenged the rule in the D.C. Circuit on February 18, 2026, and 24 states, joined by cities, counties and others, filed a second challenge on March 19, 2026.

Impact on the United States

The rescission ends EPA's claimed authority to set GHG standards for motor vehicles, and the AP reported it could unleash a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities. Automakers that had planned model-year 2027+ vehicles to meet the vacated standards face investment uncertainty. Air quality benefits from avoided co-pollutants (NOx, PM) associated with cleaner vehicles are also lost.

Documented effects

1. Feb 2026Federal Register publication on 2026-02-18 (Document 2026-03157) confirms the rule's effective date of April 20, 2026; all GHG standards for model years 2012-2027 vehicles simultaneously repealed.[1]
2. Two D.C. Circuit challenges: No. 26-1037, filed February 18, 2026 by 17 health and environmental groups including the American Lung Association, Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund; and No. 26-1061, filed March 19, 2026 by 24 states, 10 cities, five counties, the District of Columbia and others, led by New York, Massachusetts, California and Connecticut. A petition asking EPA to reconsider the rule was filed April 16, 2026, and the parties moved to delay merits briefing pending EPA's response.[3]
3. Sep 17, 2026EPA separately proposed rescinding the greenhouse-gas findings for fossil-fuel-fired power plants and repealing their GHG emission standards[4]

Why this is rated critical

Rescinding the 2009 finding repealed all federal vehicle greenhouse-gas standards and, per AP, could unleash a broader undoing of climate rules for power plants and oil and gas, a systemic and far-reaching harm now in effect.

effective 2026-04-20; legal challenges pending

Corrections & updates [7]

Every change to a fact on this page after publication is logged here, newest first.

1. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedKey facts

   Corrected the description of the lawsuits: 17 health and environmental groups challenged the rule in the D.C. Circuit on February 18, 2026 (No. 26-1037), and 24 states with cities, counties and others filed a second challenge on March 19, 2026 (No. 26-1061). A petition asking EPA to reconsider was filed April 16, 2026, and the parties moved to delay merits briefing pending EPA's response.[3]

2. Sep 29, 2026UpdatedStatus

   On September 17, 2026, EPA proposed rescinding the separate greenhouse-gas findings for fossil-fuel-fired power plants and repealing their GHG standards under section 111. This is the stationary-source step that the vehicle rule itself did not take.[4]

3. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedSummary

   The entry overstated the rule's reach. The final rule repeals vehicle GHG standards under Clean Air Act section 202(a)(1). It says EPA regulates stationary sources separately under authorities outside the scope of the rulemaking, and it contains no statement that EPA would not regulate under section 111. The AP reported that the repeal 'could unleash' a broader undoing of climate rules for power plants and oil and gas. The sentence saying California's waiver was unaffected was removed: Congress had already disapproved California's Advanced Clean Cars II waiver in June 2025 (Public Law 119-16). EPA's proposal was signed, not published, on July 29, 2025.[1][5][6]

4. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedKey facts

   States did not sue 'immediately'. Seventeen health and environmental groups challenged the rule in the D.C. Circuit on February 18, 2026 (No. 26-1037), and 24 states filed a second challenge on March 19, 2026 (No. 26-1061).[3][5]

   Previously

   20+ state AGs immediately filed legal challenges

   Now

   Groups sued Feb 18; 24 states sued March 19, 2026

5. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedForeign linkback

   Removed an unsourced passage on foreign automakers and US competitiveness abroad; no cited source supports it. Also corrected the comment count to 'approximately 572,000', as the final rule states.[1]

6. Sep 29, 2026ClarifiedSummary

   Replaced an unsourced line in the short description (automaker investment uncertainty) with the lawsuits documented in the entry.[3][5]

   + Show previous and current text- Hide previous and current text

   Previously

   EPA finalized a rule rescinding the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and repealing all federal vehicle greenhouse-gas standards under the Clean Air Act. Automakers face investment uncertainty and consumers lose federal emissions floors.

   Now

   EPA finalized a rule rescinding the 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and repealing all federal vehicle greenhouse-gas standards under the Clean Air Act. Health and environmental groups and 24 states have challenged it in the D.C. Circuit.

7. Sep 29, 2026CorrectedCost estimate

   Removed the $8.7B 'so far' figure: it treated EPA's 2,500 premature deaths projected for the year 2055 as an annual toll starting in 2026 and used ACEEE's full-fleet 2032 fuel-savings figure; the repealed standards only bite from model year 2027. Removed an unsourced federal-outlay projection. The climate cost is now derived from EPA's own final-rule emissions estimate (8,300 million tons CO2e over 2027-2055), about 1,470 million tons by FY2035, valued at EPA's $190/ton social cost of carbon. Consumer and health effects stay under the vehicle-standards entry so nothing is counted twice.

   Previously

   $8.7B so far; $15B / $25B federal 10yr/15yr; $600B broader 10yr

   Now

   $0 so far; $0 federal 10yr/15yr; $280B broader 10yr

Sources [6]