EPA’s action will result in more air pollution, and increased risk of disease across America
WASHINGTON, DC – (February 12, 2026) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its repeal of the Endangerment Finding, EPA’s longstanding, science-based finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare. The action also includes the elimination of federal standards to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks. In response, the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, the Alliance for Nurses for Healthy Environments and Physicians for Social Responsibility issued the following statements:
“As organizations committed to protecting public health, we will challenge this unlawful repeal.”
Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association:
“This is a dark day for science and health. Climate change harms health – period. By refusing to acknowledge and act on this, America’s health will suffer preventable harm. Overturning the Endangerment Finding and eliminating cleaner vehicles rules will result in more air pollution, more frequent and intense disasters like wildfires and floods, and increased risk of diseases, making lung health worse across the U.S.
“The American Lung Association stands firmly behind the Endangerment Finding, which is supported by science and the law, and has been a cornerstone of public health protection for more than 15 years. It is a critical tool in EPA’s ability and responsibility to regulate climate pollutants like carbon dioxide and methane. Overturning it goes against decades of scientific consensus and puts polluters’ interests above the health of children, seniors and communities across America. This retreat from climate leadership is irresponsible and will endanger the health of families so the Lung Association will use every tool at our disposal to defend the right to clean air and a safe climate.”
Katie Huffling, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments:
“The EPA’s repeal of the Endangerment Finding is not only dangerous – it’s an attack on science and on the health of the American people. Nurses see the human toll of climate change every day: more asthma attacks, more ER visits, more people struggling to breathe. The facts are clear – climate change harms health. Denial of well-established and credible science linking greenhouse gases to harms to human health will only deepen inequities and push our health systems beyond their limits. Rescinding the Endangerment Finding and eliminating clean vehicle standards is a giveaway to polluters – paving the way for more fossil fuel emissions, more toxic pollution, and more human suffering. The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments will continue to fight for clean air and a more sustainable future for all.”
Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association:
“Today’s action by the EPA to repeal the Endangerment Finding that greenhouse gases threaten the health of all communities undermines decades of science and rulings by federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Instead of protecting the public’s health from the dangerous and deadly effects of air pollution, including greenhouse gases emitted by new cars and trucks, this action will exacerbate the health threats we are already seeing from climate change, including increased heat waves, more air pollution and deadly wildfires.
“The American people deserve to live full lives in clean and healthy communities. We expect EPA to fight for this, but it is abdicating its authority and losing sight of its mission to protect the American public from environmental health threats and to hold industry responsible for meeting these standards.”
Brian Campbell, PhD, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility:
“By repealing the Endangerment Finding, the Trump administration’s EPA is abandoning its responsibility to protect Americans from the greenhouse gas pollution driving climate change. PSR’s health professional members are already confronting the devastating impacts of climate change – from worsening heat and air pollution, extreme weather and the spread of infectious diseases – in our patients and communities. Our duty as health professionals is to prevent harm, and we will continue to challenge this decision and defend against further attacks on America’s public health.”
