Big businesses speak out against Trump administration’s proposed climate rollback
When oil lobbyists and environmentalists agree on something, it’s worth noting.
That happened this fall when automakers, manufacturers, utility companies and even a major oil and gas lobbying group submitted public comments expressing serious concerns with the Trump administration’s plan to roll back a cornerstone of U.S. environmental policy — the Endangerment Finding.
This scientific determination gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to limit climate pollution, which is driving more dangerous heat waves, storms, flooding and wildfires, threatening the health and safety of people across the country.
The Endangerment Finding also created a stable and predictable playing field that companies relied on to invest billions in clean tech and green jobs. Take it away, experts say, and major American industries face turmoil.
“There is a lot at stake for companies if the Endangerment Finding is reversed,” said Environmental Defense Fund’s Sean Hackett, who works with companies and investors to advocate for strong laws to limit climate pollution. “Reversing this regulatory foundation would inject chaos into the marketplace, undermine investor confidence and erode the stable policy framework that businesses rely on to plan, innovate and compete.”
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Since the finding, automakers have poured nearly $200 billion into clean vehicle manufacturing, rolling out more than 70 electric car models and creating almost 195,000 jobs. Technologies to cut methane, a potent climate pollutant, have become a booming business. Solar and wind power also now beat coal on cost — saving consumers money on electric bills and keeping U.S. companies competitive in a global clean energy race.
“Eliminating the 2009 Endangerment Finding could introduce regulatory uncertainty into a landscape where long-term planning and capital investment depend on predictability," said the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a trade group with more than 1,000 member companies that produce machinery for the construction, agriculture, mining, forestry and utility industries, in official comments to the EPA. The association added that the finding's benefits “are essential to supporting American manufacturing and economic growth.”
In raising these serious concerns, businesses joined states, cities, labor groups, health experts, former EPA leaders — including two from Republican administrations — and hundreds of thousands of Americans who opposed EPA’s proposal.