USA: the EPA sued by several organizations, including APHA, "over illegal repeal of climate protections"
"A broad coalition of heath and environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its illegal determination that it is not responsible for protecting us from climate pollution and its elimination of rules to cut the tailpipe pollution fueling the climate crisis and harming people’s health", declared the American Public Health Association (APHA) on 18/02/2026.
The case, "filed in the D.C. Circuit, challenges the rescission of the 2009 endangerment finding", [announced by Donald Trump on 12/02, alongside EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin]. The text found that "climate pollution is a threat to public health and welfare".
In addition, "the agency eliminated the clean vehicle standards, which were set to deliver the single biggest cut to U.S. carbon pollution in history, save lives, and save Americans hard-earned money on gas".
"Ignoring the scientific evidence of the threat climate pollution poses to the health of all of us sends a very wrong message to communities across the nation and around the world. EPA has a duty to consider the well-being and safety of all, and the science is clear; climate change and air pollution threaten everyone’s health", said Georges C. Benjamin, CEO of the APHA.
According to Brian Lynk, Senior Attorney to the Environmental Law and Policy Center, "this is not a mere rollback. EPA is attempting to completely disavow its statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. After two decades of scientific evidence supporting the 2009 finding, the agency cannot credibly claim that the body of work is now incorrect".
Besides that, Donald Trump signed, the same day, an executive orders to ensure "an adequate supply of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides", "two critical inputs essential to military readiness and America’s agricultural strength, respectively".
Registered as a pesticide in the U.S. since 1974, the Glyphosate is "unlikely to be a human carcinogen" according to EPA, opposing the WHO's conclusions.
"Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is legally required to limit vehicle emissions of any “air pollutant”" (AHPA)
"Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is legally required to limit vehicle emissions of any “air pollutant” that the agency determines “cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare”", APHA stressed.
"In 2007, the Supreme Court held in Massachusetts v. EPA that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases unambiguously are “air pollutants” under the Clean Air Act and told EPA to determine, based on the science, if that pollution endangers human health and welfare. EPA made that determination in 2009, which led to new standards for vehicles. It built on that finding when issuing other standards.
In its repeal, the Trump EPA is rehashing legal arguments that the Supreme Court already considered and rejected in Massachusetts v. EPA.
"Clean car standards set in 2024 would save drivers of new cars an average of $6 000"
"Along with the repeal of the endangerment finding, the EPA eliminated all carbon emissions standards from vehicles. The EPA’s clean car standards set in 2024 would save drivers of new cars an average of $6,000 over the lifetime of their vehicles", added AHPA.
"The EPA’s own analysis found that eliminating the vehicle standards will increase gas prices, force Americans to spend more on fuel, and be a net negative for the economy".
The organizations that brought the case
- The American Public Health Association, American Lung Association, Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment, Clean Wisconsin, represented by Clean Air Task Force,
- Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ), Clean Air Council, Friends of the Earth, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Rio Grande International Study Center (RGISC), and the Union of Concerned Scientists represented by Earthjustice,
- and Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Law & Policy Center, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Public Citizen, and Sierra Club.
"Glyphosate-based herbicides, a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy" (Trump Executive order)
According to the order, "elemental phosphorus is pervasive in defense supply chains and is therefore crucial to military readiness and national defense", but also "a critical precursor element for the production of glyphosate-based herbicides, which play a critical role in maintaining America’s agricultural advantage by enabling farmers to efficiently and cost-effectively produce food and livestock feed".
"As the most widely used crop protection tools in United States agriculture, glyphosate-based herbicides are a cornerstone of this Nation’s agricultural productivity and rural economy, allowing United States farmers and ranchers to maintain high yields and low production costs while ensuring that healthy, affordable food options remain within reach for all American families.
There is no direct one-for-one chemical alternative to glyphosate-based herbicides. Lack of access to glyphosate-based herbicides would critically jeopardize agricultural productivity, adding pressure to the domestic food system, and may result in a transition of cropland to other uses due to low productivity".
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