'Gift to polluters' as US revokes climate ruling

The Trump administration has revoked the ruling that greenhouse gases endanger human health in a move described as a gift to “billionaire polluters”.

- Dharna Noor

The decision represents the most sweeping climate change policy rollback by the administration to date.

Trump's move revoked the “endangerment finding”, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare. Since 2009, the decision represents the most sweeping climate change policy rollback by the administration to date. finding has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit greenhouse gas pollution from vehicles, power stations and other industrial sources.

Donald Trump called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in American history”.He told reporters: “This is a big one if you're into environment. This is about as big as it gets.”

The decision is part of Trump's bigger anti-environment push, in which he has removed pollution rules and provided a boost for oil and gas.

Trump has said climate change is a hoax, and has withdrawn the US from the Paris agreement, leaving the world’s largest contributor to global warming out of international efforts to combat it. He has also ended Biden-era tax credits aimed at boosting electric cars and renewable energy.