Seventy-eight health organizations, including the American Lung Association, have sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it not to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding and greenhouse gas standards for vehicles.
The EPA has proposed eliminating both the Endangerment Finding—which states that greenhouse gas emissions are harmful to human health—and all limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars, vans, and trucks. The proposal has drawn opposition from many health professionals and groups, who testified at an EPA hearing in August.
The public comment period for this proposal ends on September 22. Individuals concerned about the potential health impacts of repealing these protections are encouraged to submit their views to the EPA.
The letter from the health groups includes the following statement:
“The health professionals, patients and communities we represent understand the impacts of climate change not just because of the decades of peer-reviewed research, but because they’ve seen firsthand how climate-fueled disasters like wildfires, flooding and extreme weather harm patients and communities.
“Repealing the Endangerment Finding and greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles would be a massive setback for health and a direct contradiction to EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.
“Standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and from other sources, have already helped to drive down the emissions that cause climate change. Climate change is harming Americans’ health across every region of the country. Worsened air quality from wildfire smoke, more days of high ozone pollution, stronger extreme weather events and increased spread of diseases are already putting health and lives at risk.
“People’s health across the United States will suffer if lifesaving pollution controls are left on the manufacturing floor and the overwhelming scientific consensus – and the law – on climate change is ignored. Children will have more asthma attacks. Grandparents will die early due to unhealthy air. On behalf of the patients, communities and sectors we serve, we urge you to withdraw these dangerous repeals.”
