EPA: Greenhouse Gases Endanger Americans' Health, Welfare

The finding means that the federal agency can proceed to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act without waiting for Congress to pass legislation limiting these emissions, which are produced by the burning of fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas.

"These long-overdue findings cement 2009's place in history as the year when the United States government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean energy reform," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Greenhouse gases are the primary driver of climate change, which can lead to hotter, longer heat waves that threaten the health of the sick, poor or elderly; increases in ground-level ozone pollution linked to asthma and other respiratory illnesses; as well as other threats to the health and welfare of Americans, Jackson explained.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson (Photo courtesy Mass DEP)

"Business leaders, security experts, government officials, concerned citizens and the United States Supreme Court have called for enduring, pragmatic solutions to reduce the greenhouse gas pollution that is causing climate change," said Jackson. "This continues our work towards clean energy reform that will cut greenhouse gases and reduce the dependence on foreign oil that threatens our national security and our economy."

EPA's endangerment finding covers emissions of six key greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride - that have been the subject of scrutiny and intense analysis for decades by scientists in the United States and around the world.

Scientific consensus shows that as a result of human activities, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are at record high levels and data shows that the Earth has been warming over the past 100 years, with the steepest increase in warming in recent decades.

The announcement was timed to coincide with the opening in Copenhagen of the United Nations annual climate conference, where world leaders are expected to agree on how to limit greenhouse gas emissions to keep the global average temperature at a level that will avoid the worst consequences of global warming - rising sea levels, extreme weather events, melting glaciers and polar ice caps, heatwaves, droughts, floods and species extinctions.

EPA's final findings respond to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision that greenhouse gases fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants. The findings do not in and of themselves impose any emission reduction requirements but rather allow EPA to finalize the greenhouse gas standards proposed earlier this year for new light-duty vehicles as part of the joint rulemaking with the Department of Transportation.

On-road vehicles contribute more than 23 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. EPA's proposed greenhouse gas standards for light-duty vehicles, a subset of on-road vehicles, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 950 million metric tons and conserve 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of model year 2012-2016 vehicles.

Greenhouse gases mount during traffic jams like this one in Los Angeles. (Photo by Rainer)

President Barack Obama and Administrator Jackson have stated that they support a legislative solution to the problem of climate change and Congress' efforts to pass comprehensive climate legislation. However, said Jackson, climate change is threatening public health and welfare, and it is critical that EPA fulfill its obligation to respond to the 2007 U.S.Supreme Court ruling that determined that greenhouse gases fit within the Clean Air Act definition of air pollutants.

The House of Representatives passed climate legislation in June, but the Senate is not scheduled to consider its version of the bill until next spring. Senate debate on the climate bill was postponed to allow work on health care reform to proceed.

Senator Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said today, "The endangerment finding released today confirms what we have been told by America’s top scientists and leading scientists of the world - that unchecked global warming is perilous to human health and our environment."

Boxer emphasized the bipartisan nature of the finding, saying, "After the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that global warming pollution is covered under the Clean Air Act, the Bush EPA laid the groundwork for this endangerment finding, which has been completed by the Obama EPA."

Boxer's committee is not bipartisan on this issue, however. The committee passed its version of a bill in November although all Republicans boycotted the vote.

She said the Senate now "has a duty to act on climate change legislation."

The EPA issued the proposed endangerment finding in April 2009 and held a 60-day public comment period. The agency received more than 380,000 comments, which it says were "carefully reviewed and considered" during the development of the final findings.

Comments today on the endangerment finding were mixed. National Association of Manufacturers Vice President of Energy & Resources Policy Keith McCoy said, "The NAM is concerned that the EPA did not seriously take into consideration any of the thousands of comments manufacturers made on this proposal."

McCoy said the NAM supports "cost-effective efforts to address climate change" but believes the appropriate authority to address this should be Congress. "The EPA is moving forward with an agenda that will put additional burdens on manufacturers, cost jobs and drive up the price of energy," he said. "This finding comes when unemployment is hovering at 10 percent, and many manufacturers are struggling to stay in business. It is doubtful that this endangerment finding will achieve its stated goal, but it is certain to come at a huge cost to the economy."

The Bowen power plant in Georgia is the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide by a U.S. power generating station. (Photo by Indhslf72)

American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said, "This action poses a threat to every American family and business if it leads to regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Such regulation would be intrusive, inefficient, and excessively costly."

"It could chill job growth and delay business expansion. The Clean Air Act was meant to control traditional air pollution, not greenhouse gases that come from every vehicle, home, factory and farm in America," said Gerard. "A fit-for-purpose climate law is a much preferred solution." Calling the decision "politically motivated to coincide with the start of the Copenhagen climate summit,"

Gerard said API members are already investing in technology to cut greenhouse gases. "Between 2000 and 2008," he said, "U.S.-based oil and natural gas companies invested $58 billion in low-carbon energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, more than either the federal government or all other U.S.-based private industry combined."

Environmental groups were pleased with the finding. "The danger of global warming pollution is clear and present, the solutions are at hand, and the time for action is now," said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. "It’s time for Congress to finish its work on U.S. legislation to cap and reduce the 19 million tons of heat-trapping pollution we emit every day."

"American leadership on climate change will strengthen our security, wean us off of foreign oil, and ensure that America wins the race to clean energy innovation in the global market place," Krupp said.

David Doniger, policy director of the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, "Today’s announcement shows that the U.S. government is serious about tackling this problem and putting limits on the largest sources of carbon pollution, including vehicles and coal-fired plants. The Obama administration is prepared to use existing laws, even as it works with Congress on new ones, to move our country toward cleaner energy that will protect the health of people and of future generations."

"As world leaders gather in Copenhagen, this action is an important piece of the puzzle that will move the nation - and the world - toward a cleaner future."

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said the endangerment announcement "couldn't come at a more important time."

"The Obama administration has followed through on its pledge to act and is demonstrating that the U.S. has turned away from eight years of inaction under the Bush administration," Pope said.

"President Obama sees the Big Picture - by shifting to clean energy, and cracking down on the corporations that pollute the water we drink and the air we breathe, we can restore our economy to prosperity and reduce our dependence on oil and coal, all while tackling global warming," he said.

"This is one more key commitment President Obama can bring to the world to show that the U.S. will do its part to fight global warming," said Pope. "A strong start in Copenhagen will allow the United States and the world to achieve final, binding domestic and international climate agreements later in 2010."

Senator Boxer also believes the finding strengthens the U.S. position at the UN climate conference. "In light of the EPA endangerment finding, the President’s appearance in Copenhagen will carry even more weight, because it shows that America is taking this issue very seriously and is moving forward."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.