EPA Issues Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases

EPA issued a widely anticipated finding today that greenhouse gas emissions “endanger … the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations.” This finding is a prerequisite to EPA finalizing its proposed light-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards proposed in September and is a step towards regulating emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and refineries.

The issuance has two significant political implications. First, it is intended to signal to the rest of the world that the United States is determined to control its GHG emissions in advance of the U.N.’s climate talks in Copenhagen that began today. Second, it signals to Congress (and to domestic businesses) that the current administration and the EPA intend to move forward with GHG regulation under existing law if Congress does not act by passing some type of carbon-reducing legislation.

Read more here (EPA) and here (AP).