By Nancy Price, Earth Democracy Committee
Dismantling Federal Climate Protections: The Trump Administration’s Current Approach
On Jan. 17, 2026, President Trump officially withdrew the United States from the 2015 U.N. Paris Climate Agreement, which was originally signed by 195 nations—now reduced to 194. This landmark, legally binding treaty aims to keep global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius, with a target of 1.5 degrees. Under its terms, each country must submit and strengthen its national climate action plans every five years. Trump revoked the Obama and Biden administration action plans for 2030 and 2035, as well as the 2050 net-zero target. He also withdrew the US from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the foundational treaty for global climate cooperation. With these withdrawals, the responsibility now falls to states, counties, and municipalities to enact and fund their own climate action plans and to educate and mobilize the public.
On Jan. 29, 2025, Lee Zeldin was confirmed as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. A close Trump ally, Zeldin has criticized previous Democratic administrations, accusing them of being “willing to bankrupt the country with overly restrictive and economically damaging rules to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming.”
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in Massachusetts v. EPA that greenhouse gases (GHGs) are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Three years later, the EPA issued its historic “Endangerment Finding,” determining that six key GHGs—including carbon dioxide and methane—pose a threat to public health and welfare. Emissions from motor vehicles, power plants, and other sources were found to contribute to global warming, fueling catastrophic floods, extreme heat waves, wildfires, and other natural disasters. This finding established the legal basis for regulating GHGs under the Clean Air Act.
Seventeen years later, on Feb. 12, 2026, President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin announced at a White House press conference that “today, the Trump EPA has finalized the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States of America by eliminating its own endangerment finding.” With this action, the Trump administration repealed the scientific determination that provided the government’s legal authority to combat climate change.
Zeldin argued that the Clean Air Act’s definition of “air pollution” refers to localized, tangible harm—not global atmospheric warming—thereby narrowing the agency’s regulatory scope. He also contended that Congress never explicitly authorized the EPA to regulate the six greenhouse gases included in the 2009 finding. Zeldin justified the repeal by citing a 2025 Department of Energy report suggesting previous climate models overestimated future warming and that the economic impacts of climate change are less severe than previously assumed.
The elimination of the endangerment finding removes the legal basis for Clean Air Act regulations and federal greenhouse gas regulations. As Zeldin emphasized, “Referred to by some as the holy grail of federal regulatory overreach, the 2009 Obama EPA endangerment finding is now eliminated, and the EPA is abandoning its justification for federal tailpipe standards, power plant rules, and fuel economy regulations, as well as the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change.”
California’s Legal Resistance and Climate Leadership
In 2025, California opposed the proposed cancellation of the Endangerment Finding and is expected to challenge the 2026 decision in court. California Air Resources Board Executive Director Steven Cliff testified, “Thousands of scientists from around the world are not wrong… In this proposal, EPA is denying reality and telling every victim of climate-driven fires and floods not to believe what’s right before their eyes.”
Governor Gavin Newsom declared in 2026 that California would take the Trump administration to court: “Donald Trump may put corporate greed ahead of communities and families, but California will not stand by. We will continue to lead because the lives and livelihoods of our people depend on it.”
Global Conference: Advancing a Just Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels
An upcoming meeting, scheduled for April 24–29 in Santa Marta, Colombia, will address the widening gap between global fossil fuel production plans and the reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Government projections show that by 2030, fossil fuel production will exceed Paris-aligned levels by more than 120%, and by 2050, production is expected to be 4.5 times higher than what a 1.5-degree pathway permits. This underscores the urgent need for a coordinated global effort to phase out coal, oil, and gas, grounded in the principles of a Just Transition and respect for human, civil, and environmental rights.
Learn more about the conference principles and thematic pillars, and sign up for updates here.
Organize for Earth Justice with WILPF
Peace is not achieved through militarism, which pollutes our air, water, and land and destroys vital ecosystems. Environmental destruction is violence inflicted upon communities today and future generations. If you’re interested in organizing for a fossil-fuel-free future with the Earth Democracy Committee or have questions about these topics, please email earthdemocracy@wilpfus.org.
