Press Release  AG Campbell Testifies Before EPA to Oppose Proposed Rescission of Landmark Finding that Greenhouse Gas Emissions Endanger Public Health and Welfare

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell testified today before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in opposition to the agency’s proposed rescission of its landmark 2009 Endangerment Finding that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution that drives climate change and endangers public health and welfare. The Trump Administration’s proposal, issued August 1, 2025, would deny EPA’s authority to regulate harmful air pollution that contributes to climate change and would eliminate all existing EPA vehicle emission standards in one fell swoop.  

“Two decades ago, my office led the fight to compel the EPA to protect the American people from the proven dangers of greenhouse gas emissions. We’re going to keep holding EPA accountable,” said AG Campbell. “Climate change is real, and it is here. This rushed proposal turns a blind eye to common sense, EPA’s own scientific research, and the law --- all at the expense of our health and wellbeing.”  

The 2009 Endangerment Finding was the direct result of the landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which confirmed EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that threaten public health and welfare. After years of scientific review, EPA determined in 2009 that greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles contribute to air pollution that harms public health and welfare in numerous ways. EPA’s new proposal seeks to reverse that finding with no grounding in law or science.  

In her testimony, AG Campbell outlined three central flaws in EPA’s proposal, underscoring the illegality of the proposed rescission, the agency’s use of flawed and unscientific sources to deny the realities of climate change, and its failure to acknowledge the impacts of climate change on daily life. AG Campbell criticized EPA’s reliance on an unfinished, flawed Department of Energy report to claim that the science behind climate change is “uncertain,” emphasizing that this misstep contradicts decades of peer-reviewed research and EPA findings confirming the reality and severity of climate change. She also highlighted the agency’s failure to account for the enormous economic, health, and environmental costs of climate change, which continue to burden the daily lives of all Americans. From worsening extreme heat and air quality to devastating floods, and wildfires, communities across the Commonwealth have experienced these impacts firsthand. By ignoring these harms, the EPA not only violates its legal obligations but also undermines its fundamental responsibility to protect public health and welfare. 

The U.S. transportation sector is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country and is responsible for more than 3% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Motor vehicle emissions also contribute to the formation of smog, as well as fine particle pollution and toxic air pollution, all of which are linked to premature death, respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, and cancer, among other serious health impacts.  

AG Campbell is one of many attorneys general and public officials speaking out against the EPA’s flawed proposal. The comment period on EPA’s proposal closes on September 22, 2025.  

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