While the scientific evidence about climate change has not changed, the legal obligation to act on it has
By Bonnie Phillips / ecoRI News staff
The finding itself is straightforward: carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases — caused by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and
gas — endanger public health and welfare. The finding relied on evidence from
multiple scientific authorities, including the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering and Medicine, and was adopted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
in 2007 that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that can be regulated
under the Clean Air Act.
The Trump administration has claimed the endangerment
finding hurts industry and the economy and that the Obama and Biden
administrations twisted science to determine that greenhouse gases are a public
health risk. While other air pollutants will still be regulated, the decision
specifically removes the main legal foundation for federal greenhouse gas
limits tied to fossil fuel use.
In practical terms, this means federal regulators are no
longer required to set nationwide limits on these emissions. The scientific
evidence about climate change hasn’t changed, but the legal obligation to act
on it has.
“Despite overwhelming opposition from state and local leaders nationwide, the Trump administration’s actions depart from well-established scientific consensus and substantially weaken the federal government’s authority to regulate harmful emissions, rolling back longstanding public health safeguards and vehicle emissions standards,” said Terry Gray, director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. “Allowing greenhouse gas emissions to go unchecked exacerbates the climate and public health challenges communities are already experiencing. Rhode Island remains committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of its residents.”
How the endangerment finding has been used
Since taking effect in 2010, during President Obama’s first
term, the endangerment finding has been the legal basis for new regulations
targeting emissions from vehicles, oil and gas facilities, and large
industries, including power plants.
Under Trump, the Department of Energy has suggested that
climate models used by scientists to predict warming have overreached, that
long-term trends for disasters generally don’t show much change, and that
climate has little impact on the economy.
But climate scientists warn that overturning the
endangerment finding undermines decades of scientific progress and damages the
credibility of U.S. institutions charged with protecting the environment.
In a letter to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, Rhode Island’s
congressional delegation reiterated that climate change is indeed affecting
state residents.
“Allowing polluters to pump our atmosphere full of
planet-warming greenhouse gases will not only make Rhode Islanders’ lives
shorter and sicker; it will cost them billions,” according to the letter signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack
Reed and Congressmen Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner.
In the past five years alone, extreme weather disasters have
cost Rhode Island up to $500 million, according to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration.
In 2017, NOAA increased its sea
level rise projections to up to 8 feet by 2100. The Northeast is
projected to experience an additional 1-3 feet on top of NOAA modeling.
In a state with more than 400 miles of coastline and 247
miles of seawall, the effects of sea level rise could be catastrophic.
“In the next 15 years, defending Rhode Island’s
infrastructure, homes, businesses, and communities from more frequent and
intense storms and flooding could cost the state $2.9 billion.”
— Rhode Island congressional letter to the EPA
That $2.9 billion figure refers to an estimate by
the Center for Climate Integrity, which partnered with Resilient Analytics, an
engineering firm specializing in climate adaptation, and the University of
Colorado, of the cost of building seawalls and safeguarding Rhode Island from
chronic flooding by 2040 under a moderate sea-level-rise scenario.
Why the change matters
Climate change is already impacting daily life, and
researchers expect that to intensify without strong emissions controls. Some
possible results include:
Higher food prices. Droughts and extreme weather can
reduce crop yields and livestock herds.
Health risks. Heat waves and poorer air quality can
increase emergency room visits and medical costs.
A 2022 study found that within the Northeast, intense
heat was focused in areas with lower incomes, more vulnerable populations, and
higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities.
The South Providence and Washington Park neighborhoods in
Providence host about a dozen polluters routinely listed in the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory. This section of Providence
contains a greater number of polluting facilities than any other zip code in
Providence County.
Air pollution from the Port of Providence and Interstate 95
has caused the neighborhoods to endure some of the highest rates of asthma in
southern New England. Rhode Island as a whole has the fourth-highest rate of
asthma in the country, with 11.2% of the population suffering from the
respiratory condition, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. The national average is 7.8%.
The revocation of the endangerment finding “is yet another
giveaway to corporate polluters on the backs of Rhode Islanders’ health and
wellbeing,” Amos, Magaziner, Whitehouse, and Reed said in the letter.
Rising insurance and housing costs. More frequent
disasters can drive up premiums or make coverage harder to obtain.
In 2021 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) incorporated climate risk into the cost of flood insurance, resulting in a dramatic increase in policy costs. Many Rhode Island policyholders saw their premiums go up, and they could continue to increase by as much as 18% annually for the next 20 years.
At that rate, a flood policy that costs $1,000 now could
cost $5,230 in 10 years and $27,400 in two decades.
Infrastructure strain. Flooding, wildfires, and
drought can damage roads, water systems, and power grids.
A 2020 white paper found that some 2,000 Superfund sites
along the East Coast and Gulf Coast are at risk of flooding because of sea
level rise.
“Millions of people live near these sites, and flooding
could bring them into contact with hazardous chemicals,” according to the Union
of Concerned Scientists paper. “The areas near Superfund sites are
disproportionately populated by communities of color and low-income
communities.”
Rhode Island, the smallest state, has the seventh-most
Superfund sites of any state along the two coasts. In fact, southern New
England is part of a Superfund hot spot that stretches from Washington, D.C.,
to Boston.
Higher operating costs. Companies could face higher
operating costs from rising energy prices and climate-related damages. Some may
also face new legal risks. In the past, courts have sometimes dismissed climate
lawsuits partly because federal regulations already existed. Without that
regulatory framework, companies could be more exposed to litigation.
The EPA action also repeals all greenhouse gas emissions
standards for cars and trucks, but experts say it could trigger a broader
undoing of climate regulations for power plants and oil and gas facilities. It
also could prevent future administrations from proposing rules to address
global warming because they would have to restart the scientific and legal
process to establish a new endangerment finding, which could take years,
according to David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense
Council.
“The threat of climate change is not science fiction, it is
here,” the Rhode Island lawmakers conclude in their letter to the EPA.
“We will continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the
state and prepare for the impacts of climate change that we are already seeing
in the form of sea level rise, storm surge, and more frequent and intense
weather events,” DEM’s Gray said.