*

Repeal to end limits on vehicle and power plant emissions,

hinder future US climate efforts

*

EPA's action marks largest deregulatory move in US history

*

Proposal could save $54 bln annually by repealing

standards

-Zeldin

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Environmental groups predict legal challenges to the

proposal

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Finding upheld in several legal challenges since 2009

*

EPA decision under Obama

(Rewrites throughout, adds comments from Zeldin and Wright,

reaction, background)

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Reuters) - The Trump administration

said on Tuesday it will rescind the long-standing finding that

greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the

legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations.

If finalized, the repeal would end current limits on

greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes, power plants,

smokestacks and other sources, and hamper future U.S. efforts to

combat global warming.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin

announced the agency's plan to rescind the "endangerment

finding" at an event at a car dealership in Indiana, alongside

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and called it the largest

deregulatory action in U.S. history.

The proposal, which needs to undergo a public comment

period, would cut $54 billion in costs annually through the

repeal of all greenhouse gas standards, including the vehicle

tailpipe standard, he said.

Environmental groups blasted the move, saying it spells

the end of the road for U.S. action against climate change, even

as the impacts of global warming become more severe.

"With today's announcement, the EPA is telling us in no

uncertain terms that U.S. efforts to address climate change are

over. For the industries that contribute most to climate change,

the message is 'pollute more.' For everyone feeling the pain of

climate disasters, the message is 'you're on our own,'" said

Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice.

The move is expected to trigger legal challenges,

according to several environmental groups, states and lawyers.

Zeldin said that a 2024 Supreme Court decision that

reduced the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they

administer, known as the Chevron deference, means that the EPA

does not have the ability to regulate greenhouse gases.

"We do not have that power on our own to decide as an agency

that we are going to combat global climate change because we

give ourselves that power," Zeldin said.

He added that if Congress decides it wants to amend the

federal Clean Air Act to explicitly state the U.S. should

regulate carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming gases,

the EPA would follow its lead.

SHAKING THE FOUNDATION

The endangerment finding's roots date back to 2009, when the

EPA under former Democratic President Barack Obama issued a

finding that emissions from new motor vehicles contribute to

pollution and endanger public health and welfare.

That assessment followed a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision

in its landmark Massachusetts v. EPA case that said the EPA has

the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas

emissions and required the agency to make a scientific finding

on whether those emissions endanger public health.

The endangerment finding was upheld in several legal

challenges and underpinned subsequent greenhouse gas

regulations, ranging from tailpipe standards for vehicles,

carbon dioxide standards for aircraft, and methane standards for

oil and gas operations.

Zeldin and Wright challenged the

global scientific consensus

on climate change that global warming and its impacts have

since been unfolding faster than expected and that policymakers

need to step up action to curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

They also contradict the

advisory opinion issued last week

by the International Court of Justice, which said failure

by governments to reduce emissions could be an internationally

wrongful act and, found that treaties such as the 2015 Paris

Agreement on climate change should be considered legally

binding.

The administration has already

dismissed all authors

of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, which detailed

climate change impacts across the country.

"Now the public is open to engage in a thoughtful

dialogue about what is climate change? It is a real physical

phenomenon. It's worthy of study. It's worthy of even some

action, but what we have done instead is nothing related to the

actual science of climate change or pragmatic ways to make

progress," Wright said.

Zeldin said on a podcast earlier Tuesday that the

endangerment finding never acknowledged "any benefit or need for

carbon dioxide."

Industry reaction was limited on Tuesday, with some trade

groups weighing in and some companies remaining quiet.

American Trucking Associations welcomed the

announcement, saying that Biden-era vehicle emissions standards

"put the trucking industry on a path to economic ruin and would

have crippled our supply chain," said its president, Chris

Spear.

Ford said in a statement that Biden-created

tailpipe standards did "not align with the market," and America

needs "a single, stable standard to foster business planning."

"The standard should align with science and customer

choice, reduce carbon emissions by getting more stringent over

time, and grow American manufacturing," Ford said.

Other automakers Toyota ( TM ), GM, Stellantis ( STLA )

did not respond to requests for comment.

Marty Durbin, president of the Global Energy Institute at

the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it welcomed the

administration's focus on affordable energy but said it is still

weighing the proposal.

"While we did not call for this proposal, we are

reviewing it and will consult with members so we can provide

constructive feedback to the agency," he said.