The trucking industry is celebrating the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the 2009 federal finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, a move that by extension casts serious doubt over the future of Phase 3 CO2 standards for heavy-duty trucks.

The action by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eliminates the so-called “Endangerment Finding,” issued during the Obama administration, which determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases qualify as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The finding has served as the legal foundation for regulating emissions from motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources.

The EPA said in a news release that the Feb. 12 ruling — which eliminates both the Endangerment Finding and all subsequent federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for all vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond — will save taxpayers more than $1.3 trillion.

“Referred to by some as the ‘Holy Grail’ of the ‘climate change religion,’ the Endangerment Finding is now eliminated,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, in the release. “I am proud to deliver the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history on behalf of American taxpayers and consumers. As an added bonus, the off-cycle credit for the almost universally despised start-stop feature on vehicles has been removed.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump called the endangerment finding “one of the greatest scams in history,” adding that it “had no basis in fact” or law.

“On the contrary, over the generations, fossil fuels have saved millions of lives and lifted billions of people out of poverty all over the world,” Trump said at a White House ceremony.

The decision means that EPA’s GHG Phase 3 rule – which requires progressively stricter CO2 reductions for heavy-duty trucks beginning with the 2027 model year – will most likely be slashed. The standards were designed to accelerate the adoption of low- and zero-emission technologies like battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and more.

TCA, OOIDA welcomes the ruling

The trucking industry – including the Truckload Carriers Associations and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association — largely supports the development, based on early reaction.

TCA president Jim Ward says the association commends Trump and Administrator Zeldin, adding that previous emission regulations and targets were unattainable for the industry.

“The trucking industry, who keeps America’s supply chain moving, must consistently search for strategic initiatives that allow us to deliver this nation’s freight efficiently, safely and environmentally friendly. These mandates have created unattainable targets for an industry that has experienced four very challenging years and relies upon our government representatives to be forward thinking, and this repeal has demonstrated exactly that,” Ward said in a statement. “Today’s decision allows the trucking industry to advocate for sound public policy that will enable our nation’s freight delivery model to transition towards an environmentally friendly future that is affordable, reliable and achievable.”

The Clean Freight Coalition (CFC) also applauded the decision. Jim Mullen, executive director of the CFC, and imminent successor to Ward at TCA, said in a statement: “From the outset, CFC members have expressed serious concerns about the unattainable targets and unrealistic timelines included in GHG3. Left in place, the rule would have imposed significant costs on the trucking industry, disrupted the supply chain, and increased prices for goods for families and businesses across the country.

“By rescinding GHG3, the EPA has restored a more balanced and practical regulatory approach that recognizes the operational realities of trucking. The Clean Freight Coalition supports the continued development and deployment of feasible, sustainable technologies that reduce emissions while ensuring the reliable movement of freight. This final action provides the industry with the flexibility and certainty needed to innovate and invest in solutions that are both environmentally responsible and economically viable.”

OOIDA, which represents approximately 150,000 small-business truckers, welcomed the move as well.

“Small-business truckers make up 96% of the trucking industry, and prior EPA greenhouse gas rules threatened to regulate many of them out of existence,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer in a separate news release.

“Electric commercial trucks remain prohibitively expensive and impractical for small carriers due to the upfront cost, reliability concerns, and lack of charging infrastructure. Equipment affordability and uptime are essential to keeping small trucking businesses operational,” he added. “We commend EPA Administrator Zeldin on his more feasible approach to emissions regulations. We will continue working with EPA to address other nonsensical rules requiring faulty diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems that have sidelined small-business truckers for too long.”

Climate groups criticize the repeal

However, environmental groups in the U.S. are not happy with the repeal. Legal challenges are certain for an action that repeals all greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks, and could unleash a broader undoing of climate regulations on stationary sources such as power plants and oil and gas facilities, experts say. Overturning the finding will “raise more havoc” than other actions by the Trump administration to roll back dozens of environmental rules, said Ann Carlson, an environmental law professor at the UCLA School of Law.

Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator who served as White House climate adviser in the Biden administration, called the Trump administration’s actions reckless. “This EPA would rather spend its time in court working for the fossil fuel industry than protecting us from pollution and the escalating impacts of climate change,” she said.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report