Feb. 12, 2026
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency tasked with protecting human health and the environment, today put profits over people and the planet by officially denying decades of scientific research and evidence in its repeal of the Endangerment Finding and greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles.
The 2009 Endangerment Finding is the scientific evidence demonstrating the harms of fossil fuel pollution on human health and the environment, and it is the legal foundation that allows the federal government to limit pollution that causes climate change. This repeal eliminates the federal government’s authority to regulate climate-changing tailpipe emissions, incentivizing automakers to continue manufacturing gas-guzzlers and discouraging a widespread transition to clean, convenient, and affordable electric vehicles.
For hundreds of thousands of years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels fluctuated between 170 and 300 parts per million, driven by natural variations and carbon sinks. Beginning in 1950, widespread burning of fossil fuels overwhelmed this cycle, and carbon began accumulating in the atmosphere. On March 7 of this year, the reading set a record of over 430 ppm for the first time in millions of years. 2024 was the planet’s hottest year on record, with 2025 not far behind.
Climate change from fossil fuel emissions has contributed to deadly extreme weather events, such as flooding in Texas, Los Angeles wildfires, flooding from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, and 70 days in a row of 110-degree heat in Phoenix, AZ. It has also increased the spread of diseases such as Zika, Lyme disease, and Malaria, and threatened crops and global food security.
“This is another missed opportunity by the current administration that deliberately turns its back on a future built on clean energy, technological innovation, and American ingenuity, choosing instead to prop up outdated and highly polluting fossil fuels. That choice comes at a devastating cost to public health, hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs, the environment, and U.S. global leadership,” said Joel Levin, executive director of Plug In America. “Repealing the Endangerment Finding will slow the transition to electric vehicles, but it will not stop it. What it will do is push the United States into technological irrelevance, put lives at risk, and fuel more frequent and severe climate disasters.”
About Plug In America
Plug In America is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the use of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States through education, advocacy and research. Formed in 2008, Plug In America provides practical, objective information to consumers and dealerships about EVs through various programs, including National Drive Electric Week, Drive Electric Earth Month, PlugStar.com, and other public outreach events. Learn more at PlugInAmerica.org.
Media contact: Lindsey Perkins
